That was the headline in today’s op-ed in the WSJ, and gleeful reports by progressives suggest they agree with this assessment. As the WSJ notes,

It’s hard to blame Chick-fil-A. The company exists to serve chicken sandwiches and waffle fries, not to wage political battles over sexual morality, and its corporate decision-makers are free to give whatever they want to whomever they please. Still, it’s disappointing to see the left’s cultural imperialists succeed in strong-arming a company that has committed no offense—and to see Chick-fil-A implicitly conceding that the charitable organizations to which it has donated are guilty of the sins their unreasoning critics attribute to them.
We suspect Chick-fil-A’s despisers will be emboldened rather than satisfied, and don’t be surprised to hear demands that the company must now support causes the left holds dear. All in the name of tolerance and diversity. 

I think many of us are saddened by the increasing reality that in our world today you must bow down to the secular Gods of personal human autonomy in any expression, or you will be targeted for destruction. All in the name of tolerance and diversity–indeed. But we really don’t know what Chick-fil-A is going to do in the future, and its certainly not as if its values are compromised at all in how it conducts its business. But I do think it points out a larger problem, and worth a reconsideration of how we are approaching they culture.

First, we are in a culture war whether we like it or not, because war is not over in any conflict until one of the opposing parties loses the will to fight. That is the only way this war, or any war, ends. Somebody is going to be in the closet; and right now it appears that it will be Christianity. That is certainly not unique in history, nor should it be especially unsettling, as God is certainly on His throne, and history is certainly continuing toward a culmination. A day is soon approaching where every knee will bow, and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. Today, tomorrow, 500 years from now–who knows?–but its coming. I think perhaps that some Christians thought that maybe once the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergfell decision legalizing same sex marriage was made, we could just put this behind us. But the issue was never about gay marriage per se. That’s only the symptom of the disease. Which is why Chick-Fil-A (or anybody else that stands up for a biblical view of marriage) will be targeted. Because the fight for gay marriage was, and the current fight over broader LGBTQ++ rights, is at the ultimate level, a demand that we say everybody’s own autonomous desires are ok. Yet the fundamental Christian proposition is that everyone of us is marred and broken by the fall–we’re not ok. And in our flesh, everyone of us raises our fist to God in foolish, sinful rebellion against the Most High God. The only hope to fix our brokenness is through a crucified and resurrected savior. But that is exactly what the culture does not want to hear–that somehow they (and we) are not right. This culture war is only the earthly representation of a more fundamental spiritual war that continues to this day. So will we give up the fight?

Second, there is a reason Jesus sent out the 12 out two by two. It is almost impossible to bear under the pressure when alone. Chick-Fil-A was alone, and a really big target in the fast food industry. When Indiana had a similar issue a few years ago over their Religious Freedom Restoration Act, there was no doubt they’d wilt under the pressure being while isolated–other conservative states should have immediately passed similar bills and stood by Indiana. When North Carolina was targeted by Paypal for its bathroom bill, other states could have passed similar bills and told Paypal that they weren’t welcome in their states. When there is no cost to joining the other side of the culture war, we shouldn’t be surprised that all the movement is one direction. We all know that the secular left is not giving up, and indeed, every victory or defeat just re-energizes them. As Christians have responded to the changing social mores and attempted to respond to the charges of hate by showing that we’re more loving by keeping a lower profile, the intensity of opposition has only increased. We have declared a unilateral cease-fire in the culture wars while the other side just keeps fighting. How is that working out?

Many of us are inclined to think that this is just the pendulum swinging, and yes its swung too far in one direction, but that sanity will be restored at some point. But the historical reality is often quite different. Bad ideas, when not confronted and pushed back actively, proceed to their logical conclusion. When liberty is not fought for, it is lost. Taken to its logical extreme, bad ideas have led to genocide in the past. We’re rapidly leaving the American revolution and heading toward a French revolution–not a direction that’s healthy. We cannot count on culture swinging back–we need to fight for it.

Do we believe the Obergfell decision leads to less human flourishing? Then who is leading the call to repeal it? Democrats cheer it wildly, and Republicans are silent–no one is in opposition. Do we believe that permanently altering children’s bodies to change (as if that’s possible) their biological sex is child abuse? If we do, why are we unwilling to say this in public, or fight to stop it in our political process? Why are we not marching in the streets when a child is taken from his parents and given to his grandparents because they refuse to transition him?

The reality is that we are in an unavoidable culture war. We are neither defending, nor attacking–we are just dazed and confused. If this is truly just our personal preferences about what society should look like, then we should keep our mouth closed. But if the direction of our social change is truly a collapse away from Biblical values and human flourishing, then its time for a new strategy. The current one is simply not working. Yes Jesus is coming soon–but there is work to be done today. Whatever this new strategy looks like–and I don’t know what it is–you will be hated. Get over it.