As ethics increasingly rely on cultural trends and the foundations of societal morality continue to tremble under the weight of “progress,” an alarming trend has emerged within our federal government’s approach to foster care—an agenda that now prioritizes the transient “feelings” of children over rationality and the eternal truths of Scripture. As Bible-believing Christians, we have to push back against this agenda, recognizing such evil not as benign interference into the lives of human beings but as serious overreaches into realms that rightfully belong to God rather than human jurisdiction.

Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized rules mandating that foster care agencies provide so-called “Designated Placements” for “LGBTQI+” children. These rules ostensibly aim to protect these children by ensuring they are placed in homes that affirm their self-declared identities. At face value, this might seem compassionate, particularly to those who have no regard for God’s created order. However, a deeper analysis reveals a troubling concern: the state has begun to supplant parental guidance—and more critically, divine authority—with its own secular doctrine.

Under these new regulations, any child who professes an LGBTQI+ identity can demand placement in a home that affirms this identity. Effectively, this excludes Christian foster homes that adhere to biblical teachings on gender and sexuality, unless they compromise their convictions and comply with state-sanctioned ideologies. This not only discriminates against Christian foster parents but also sets a dangerous precedent—the state, rather than God and the child’s own parents, becomes the ultimate authority on morality and identity.

Why should this concern us? First, it undermines the natural and biblical role of the family. Scripture teaches that children are a heritage from the Lord (Psalm 127:3), entrusted to parents who are tasked with their upbringing according to godly principles (Proverbs 22:6). By sidelining Christian homes that do not subscribe to the affirming agenda, the state disrupts this divine mandate, replacing it with a humanistic one, effectively making it impossible for one of these children to be raised to know and love God.

Moreover, the notion that underage children can make life-altering decisions about their identity is fundamentally flawed. The Bible, as well as traditional wisdom, asserts that children are not equipped to make such decisions on their own—they need guidance. The role of the state should be to support parental authority, not usurp it. When the government dictates conditions under which children should be placed based on the latest social theories rather than established moral truths, it does not liberate these children—it leads them astray.

Christians, can we not see the slippery slope these policies represent? Today, the focus may be on foster care, but how long until the same principles are applied more broadly, questioning the fitness of parents based on their adherence to biblical teachings? If a state can dictate that a child in foster care must be placed in an affirming home, what stops it from declaring that any child expressing confusion over identity must be removed from non-affirming biological parents? It’s already happening, just look around.

The state’s role is indeed to protect children—but protect them from harm, not from the truths of God’s word. Criminal activities and abuse are where the state’s protective interventions should end. When the government steps into the realm of moral and ethical upbringing, especially by sidelining Christian values, it not only oversteps its boundaries but also risks the spiritual welfare of the very children it seeks to protect.

As guardians of faith and stewards of God’s truths, we must resist these overreaches with all our might. We must educate others, engage in lawful advocacy, and pray fervently and fight for the preservation of our religious liberties. We must stand firm, knowing that our authority comes from the highest source—God Himself—and no earthly power ought to supplant that. The future of our children, and indeed their eternal destinies, of course depends on God’s eternal decree, but may also depend on our vigilance and courage in the face of governmental overreach.