The Cowardice of Mammon

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." James 6:24

No truer proof of this phrase can be seen than in Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's veto of SB 1062. This came after a howl of protest and boycott threats to the state, including the potential loss of the Super Bowl.

Business will always look out for business. The bottom line is what matters. That's one of the things that makes capitalism work, enlightened self-interest. But sometimes self-interest in one area, profits, trumps the public interest, freedom of religion.

This  is the reason that conservatives and libertarians should not reflexively treat business interests as natural allies. We may occasionally have mutual interests but often do not.

Think of the big government bailouts of banking or car companies.  No conservative can easily stomach the use of taxpayer funds to so blatantly interfere in the free market.

Think of amnesty proposals or the desire to flood the market with H-1B visas. Business interests want cheap labor no matter the consequences for American workers or what an influx of millions of voters who favor the expansion of Big Government will do to our political and social life.

And now think of betraying an effort to protect the religious liberty of Christians in an effort to stave off the threat of boycotts.

One color in the rainbow

So gay activists would have us believe they are champions of diversity and tolerance.

That is, unless you disagree them. That kind of diversity they cannot tolerate as we can see from the boycott threats that caused Governor Jan Brewer to veto SB 1062 in Arizona, the bill that would have protected the right of conscience of religious business owners.

Gay activists say that they want tolerance and that's a pretty reasonable desire. I don't think anyone, even those who take the Bible's strictures against homosexual activities seriously, would argue that we should treat homosexuals with any less respect than they would want.

By the same token, you would think gay activists would understand and extend tolerance to those who feel, for religious reasons, that they cannot endorse homosexual behavior.

They don't. It is not enough to live and let live. Gay activists want to literally force you to come to their parties, whether you're a photographer or baker. No matter that celebrating what the Bible clearly  defines as a sin goes against their religious beliefs, if you do not celebrate homosexual relationships, you will be sued.

This is not tolerance. This is not allowing diversity of beliefs.

Gays took the rainbow as their symbol. But in their world, there is only one color.