Another blow in the culture war

You are probably aware that Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona recently vetoed a law passed in the legislature that would have allowed what some have called discrimination against gays for religious reasons. The law was inspired by a situation in neighboring New Mexico where a gay couple sued because the management of a bakery refused to make a cake for their wedding because of its Christian commitment.

The veto, however, proved surprisingly popular. Economic interests opposed the bill, feeling -- justifiably -- that a potential economic boycott would result and hurt business. Next year's Super Bowl will be held in suburban Phoenix, and the National Football League likely has a lot of pull. Even Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for president in 2012 and a leader in the notoriously conservative Church of Jesus Church of Latter-Day Saints, came out against it.

So what do folks who oppose same-gender matrimony do? I'm not sure that's the right question.

I think a number of us have forgotten that we live in a fallen world, one that never was really "safe" for Christians despite many of our values becoming an unquestioned and, to a certain extent, essential part of American culture. But while our culture may adopt our values, it will never know the God Who gave them, so when folks turn on us we should not be surprised.

It may be coming to the point where we may need to sacrifice to maintain what we believe to be clear Biblical teaching. Of course that's not a popular word.

According to the late Chuck Colson's book "Kingdoms in Conflict," repackaged as "God and Government," the city of New York passed a law several decades ago that banned discrimination against gays in entities that had contracts with the city. That was problematic for the Salvation Army, the Catholic archdiocese and a conservative Jewish synagogue, which had contracts to provide certain services. What did the religious groups do?

They cancelled the contracts. (And that was a good move.)

But how do we make money? you might ask. Never mind -- if you really trust God He will make a way. He's far bigger than this dying culture, and we're under no obligation to cooperate with it, nor can we always bend it to our will.