As Christians we understand that as someone begins to drift further and further from God, they end up losing touch with other things as well: a clear understanding of good and evil, truth, reality, and even a proper sense of themselves. Closeness to Him grounds us in a truth not possible apart from Him, helping us see the world as He sees it. This in turn helps us avoid being swept away by error, confusion or evil.

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, we’re reminded of God’s constant, universal offer of mercy, no matter how little, or how far one may have drifted.

While true for an individual, this is also true in a broader sense. As a society moves further from God, what ends up being praised, accepted, tolerated or even advocated grows not only more confused, but at times illogical, dysfunctional or even depraved.

Distance from God — the source of all truth — moves us closer to all forms of error. The good news is, a society, just like a person, can always draw closer to God and begin to regain what was lost.

It is perhaps an understatement to claim that our society has drifted far from having God at its center.

While examples of the results of this abound, a recent case would be the outcry over North Carolina’s “Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act.” This law basically says that those who are born male or female must use the bathroom facilities designated for men and women respectively.

Simple enough. Yet the public protest against this law has been loud and excessive. Some politicians and celebrities have called it “discriminatory” and “bigoted.”

Opposition to it stems from the claim that it treats unfairly those identifying as transgender (males perceiving themselves to be females and vice-versa). Being required to use a bathroom facility corresponding to one’s actual biological makeup, if it doesn’t correspond to one’s so-called “gender identity,” is seen as an intolerable form of hatred by the law’s opponents.

Implicit in the outcry is the message that anyone “uncomfortable” with a person’s “gender identity” being other than their biological identity must change their view of reality to align with someone else’s subjective perception. Suggesting that objective biological reality be the basis of laws dealing with bathroom facilities instead of a subjective perception of self is somehow considered bigoted.

As Christians we recognize that our bodies reveal an essential part of our identity: being either male or female. Nothing can change this basic theological and biological fact. Our bodies are created good as they are. Recognizing this, and having laws corresponding to this, involves no unjust discrimination.

The claim of unfairness towards those identifying as transgender is interesting to ponder. Would not repealing it involve a far greater unfairness?

If we look at the number of those claiming to be transgender, it is estimated to be about 0.3 percent of the population in the United States. Assuming that number is accurate, repealing the law in question would mean that 99.7 percent of the population would conceivably be subject to a law that completely disregards their comfort or discomfort in order to accommodate the comfort of the 0.3 percent in their self-perceived “gender identity.”

If those who are not transgender should be required to set aside their discomfort with the situation in the name of being tolerant, would it not be fair to require the precise thing from those who are transgender? In which case the 0.3 percent would be asked to set aside their discomfort for the sake of the 99.7 percent. Wouldn’t that scenario make far more sense to far more people and cause the least discomfort possible?

Regardless of the logic or illogic involved in cases like this, we can be sure that as God is removed further and further from the public arena, the truth, the reality, the goodness that only He provides will likewise continue to disappear.