Quick- who was the villain in the classic story of the emperor’s new clothes? It’s not such an easy question. You could argue that all this folly could be set at the vain unshod feet of the emperor himself. You could certainly make the case that the tailors are the root of the problem, that their brazen con is the root of it all. You could, in turn, point your finger at all those citizens who went along for the ride, who desperately feared that others would think them unwise if they didn’t get on board with the ruse. Truth be told, in this story everyone but the little boy has much to be ashamed of. I would add one other group to the villain list however- all those who, having read the story, learn nothing from it.
We may think this story has nothing to teach us. We, after all, don’t have emperors, just presidents, and they, for no more than eight years each. We know there’s no such thing as magic clothes. We know that how we react to the clothes of others says nothing at all about our own wisdom or folly. Except, of course, that we think just the opposite. How we react to the clothes of others exposes our nakedness.
We live in a world where boys heed the counsel of others who tell them that they are girls, and that any who refuse to recognize such, whether by choosing the wrong pronoun, or by refusing to allow them to compete against girls in sports are fools of the first degree. We live in a world where the world, like the citizens of the mythical empire in the story, fall all over themselves affirming the gender “decisions” of the petulant and deeply troubled. They do it for exactly the same reason as the emperor’s sycophants- to secure reputation and standing with those in power.
Our calling is perfectly clear- we are to exhibit the courage of the little boy who couldn’t be fooled by pettifoggery by not being fooled by petticoats. We need to practice sufficient Christian clear-mindedness and compassion for fools to refuse to call girls boys and boys girls. To do otherwise is to call evil good and good evil.
We will have such courage and compassion insofar as we believe, from head to toe, that we are dressed in the true Emperor’s clothes, that we have no need for the approval of the world because we wear the righteousness of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We are prepared, with Him, to be considered fools by fools, that we might show forth the wisdom of Wisdom. I pray that I will be afraid not of being thought a fool, but instead be afraid of foolish thought. I pray that God would bless me with the courage, the horse sense, and the deep indifference to the opinions of others that that little boy was blessed with. Boys are boys. Girls are girls. And those who can’t, or won’t, tell the difference, are fools.