When you’re trying to work through a major, difficult decision, one of the key questions to ask is: If I take this to its logical extreme, where will it end? Or, put another way: Am I heading in the right direction or the wrong direction?

Let’s start with something really simple and basic: our daily diet.

If I add to my diet one donut a day, what will I look like one year from now? Will I be fatter or thinner, less healthy or more healthy? What about 10 years from now?

Conversely, if I stop eating that donut and replace it with some organic berries, how will that affect me? What does the trajectory look like?

It’s the same principle with saving money or wasting money, as well with a host of other decisions we make. There may be some short-term gratification, but what are the long-term results?

Someone might say, “What’s the problem with watching a little porn here and there? I’m not hurting anyone, I’m not getting into any trouble, and it makes me feel better.”

Aside from the fact that, for a God-fearing, God-loving person, the very act of watching porn is sinful, what about the trajectory?

Will it produce freedom or bondage in your life?

A year from now, will you be watching it more often? (The answer is almost certainly yes.) Will you be drawn to harder, even more perverse forms of form? (Again, the answer is almost certainly yes.) And will it negatively impact other areas in your life, including your own sexual life and your ability to relate properly to others you find attractive? (One more big yes.)

How about getting a little too friendly with a co-worker that you’re not married to? Where might that lead if taken to its logical conclusion?

What’s the trajectory of texting and emailing and calling each other on non-business matters? What’s to stop it from turning into full-fledged adultery?

In which direction is this relationship going?

Many things can seem innocent and innocuous in their early stages, just like a rocket that is the slightest bit off target. Nothing to worry about! In the end, though, it will miss its target by many miles.

The wrong trajectory, however so slight, ends up with a major deviation from the original target and goal.

That’s one reason why I often use a full gamut of letters when speaking about gay and trans activism, namely, LGBTQ++. It’s a constant reminder of the trajectory, which originally started with just the G before quickly adding the L, then the B. Then it was T, then Q (which was part of the early foundation of, “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it”), then beyond.

That’s why websites answer questions such as, “What Does the Full LGBTQIA+ Acronym Stand For?” This same website has a section titled, “Understanding LGBTQ2S+ and other expanded acronyms.”

But of course.

Once you deviate from foundational, societal norms, the possibilities are endless.

Another site offers, “68 Terms That Describe Gender Identity and Expression.” And a non-binary reference page lists a number of multi-genders, including abigender, ambigender, bigender, demiflux, genderfluid, pangender, polygender, and trigender, all defined with the utmost seriousness.

Again, this is what happens when you deviate from “male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

That’s why the list of preferred gender pronouns has become absolutely (and sadly) laughable, yielding questions like this: “Is bun/bunself a valid pronoun? My friend was calling me a transphobe since I said it’s not valid.”

One responder answered, “I don’t understand neopronouns (for example, Someone said they prefer ‘bug/bugself’ as pronouns). Is this even respectful to the LGBTQ community?”

Seriously!

More broadly, the larger trajectory of gay activism has inevitably led to this current moment in history, which includes:

1.) The continued assault on our families and children, as Washington state has “passed a bill allowing children to legally be taken away from their parents for not consenting to gender transition procedures on their child.”

2.) The continued assault on our religious liberties, as “A restraining order has been issued against a street preacher threatening him with jail if over the next five years he offends someone by citing Bible verses that oppose the ideology of same-sex marriage.”

3.) The continued assault on our sensibilities, as the White House has vowed “that President Biden will veto a bill that would prevent biological males from participating in women’s sports should it pass both houses of Congress.”

But what else should we expect? This was the inevitable trajectory from the start.

Let’s always remember, then, that everything reproduces after its own kind.

What kind of fruit are we producing?

What is the trajectory of our own lives? In which direction are we going?

This article was originally published at AskDrBrown.org.