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Standing Firm in Faith When Culture Demands Compromise
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Welcome to this bonus episode of Live Free. I'm Josh Howerton, and today we're diving into a moment that reveals the collision between Christian conviction and cultural pressure—the MLB Pride Night controversy involving San Francisco Giants players who chose to write Bible verses on their hats instead of participating in pride messaging.
Three Giants pitchers—Landon Ropiequet, JT Brewbaker, and Ryan Walker—made a choice that would spark national outrage. During Pride Night at Oracle Ballpark, these three Christian players wrote Genesis 9:9 on their caps rather than wear the pride flag apparel. It's a powerful image: while everyone around them wore pride symbols, these three stood quietly firm in their convictions.
This moment echoes an ancient story. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded to bow before Babylon's idol in the book of Daniel, they refused. "We must obey God rather than men," they said. That's exactly what these three ballplayers did—they refused to bow.
Before we go deeper, I want to establish something crucial from Scripture. In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul gives us two commands: love people and destroy arguments that enslave them.
As a pastor, I've noticed something: when you challenge false arguments, people accuse you of being unloving toward those who believe them. When you love people who hold those arguments, people accuse you of coddling the ideology itself.
I reject both false choices. At Lakepointe and on Live Free, we love all people—regardless of who you are, what you believe, or who you sleep with. But we're also commanded to destroy the arguments that destroy lives. We can do both.
Listen closely to this: never believe them when they say what they're about is tolerance. They are about submission.
If tolerance were truly their value, they would be tolerant of Christian convictions. But they're not. Why? Because something else is happening: "Tolerance for me, submission for thee."
The media framed this as Christians making a night about "something else entirely." But that's backwards. The Giants tried to make a baseball game about ideology. The players simply refused to publicly deny 2,000-year-old Christian convictions about gender, marriage, and sexuality.
Here's something Christians need to understand: the LGBTQ movement functions like an alternate religion—specifically, like a sex cult with an unholy spirit at its core.
The pride flag originated in 1978, created by a drag queen artist associated with Harvey Milk. Look at the original eight colors: sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, art, harmony, and spirit. From its very creation, an unholy spirit was woven into the symbol.
But here's what's crucial: whatever God creates, Satan tries to commandeer.
In Ezekiel 1, we see Satan's rebellion against God. The prophet describes God's throne, surrounded by brilliant light "like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day." That's the glory of God—a rainbow. Satan, filled with pride, looked at that glory and said, "I want that."
God created the rainbow as a sign of covenant—a promise after the flood. Genesis 9:9 says:
"This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come. I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth."
God hung His bow in the sky, a symbol that He would never destroy the earth with flood again. But there's more: when that bow appears, it's pointing upward—foreshadowing the cross. God's wrath, triggered by our sin, would shoot upward toward Jesus instead of down toward us. That's the gospel. That's what the rainbow truly means.
Satan took that symbol and commandeered it for unholy purposes. This is why these players wrote Genesis 9 on their hats—to reclaim the true meaning of what God made.
Look at the stark contrasts:
In LGBTQ ideology:
In Christianity:
Every religion eventually targets children. That's why you see Pride Nights at games kids attend, drag queen story hours in libraries, and pushes to teach gender ideology in elementary schools. This movement must get into kids' ministry to ensure the next generation affirms its doctrines.
Mike Krukow, the Giants broadcaster, expressed outrage, emotion, and disappointment at these three players. But Scripture predicted this 2,000 years ago.
Romans 1:18-32 is a lens through which to understand modern America. Here's what happens when a culture suppresses God's truth:
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness."
When a culture rejects God and replaces His truth with lies, truth suppression always follows. That's why biblical content gets removed from schools, why books exposing gender ideology get banned, why you can't speak biblical truth about sexuality without consequences.
But here's the key verse—Romans 1:32:
"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but they approve of those who practice them."
This explains the outrage. In a culture experiencing God's passive wrath, you don't just get participation in sin—you get demand for approval and celebration. That's why the pressure is relentless: "Unless you celebrate me, you're intolerant." Romans 1:32 predicted it precisely.
Once a society redefined marriage from God's design (one man, one woman) to "any consenting adults," a chain reaction began.
The data tells the story:
Yet some claim the modern era is obviously better than the past. That's chronological snobbery—judging ancestors as primitive while ignoring the wreckage around us.
Once marriage was redefined, what followed? New York now considers removing "mother" and "father" from family law. Why? Because if marriage is just "consenting adults," biological sex becomes irrelevant. Hence: "gestating parent" and "non-gestating parent."
Next came polyamory. If marriage is any consenting adults, why must it be two? Suddenly major publications promote "ethical non-monogamy" and multi-partner relationships. Ideas have consequences.
I want to show you something difficult but essential. A same-sex couple—who obtained a baby through surrogacy—asked their child: "Who do you want, Dada or Pop?"
The child's response: "Mama. Mama."
One parent said, "No, Dada or Pop," and the child began weeping, crying for the mother who doesn't exist.
Every child deserves a mom and a dad. Out of the mouths of babes comes truth. Ideas have consequences. When you redefine the family, children suffer.
Mike Krukow said these players should have been "sensitive" to how "impassioned" San Francisco is about LGBT ideology. But here's what Christians must understand:
You are a Christian before you are a player, employee, or student.
Galatians 1:10 sits above my desk:
"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."
Jesus gave us the order of the greatest commandments: Love God first, love people second. Some well-meaning Christians reverse this, becoming so emotionally calibrated to people's feelings that they offend God in the process.
But God's commands aren't burdensome—they're what's best for people. When you get that order wrong, you end up affirming things that genuinely harm people, thinking you're being loving.
Watch for this trick: "Are you affirming or do you practice hate?" That's choice architecture—manipulating the options to force your desired conclusion.
Other examples:
But here's the truth: affirmation and hate are not your only two choices. You can:
When someone tells you or your children that affirmation or hate are the only options, they're using choice architecture to manipulate you. Reject it.
Mike Krukow conflated the race issue with the sexuality issue, implying they're one package deal: "Are you for racial justice or are you a bigot?"
But Christians can—and should—say: "Yes to racial justice, rightly defined. No to sexual ideology, rightly rejected." These are separate issues. Don't let them be packaged together.
Francis Schaeffer said it best:
"Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world."
And Randy Alcorn:
"Truth without grace crushes and ceases to be truth. Grace without truth deceives people and ceases to be grace."
We must hold both. We stand firm on biblical truth with humility and love. We refuse to bow to false ideologies without becoming jerks. That's not our way.
We have momentum on the cultural field for the first time in decades. Here's what I'm calling for:
All gas, no brakes.
For professional athletes listening: Find your voice. Refuse to bend your knee to the mob. When you get a microphone, say something like: "I do not believe Christians should be forced or pressured to violate 2,000-year-old convictions." Then add: "Nobody should be."
For all of us: Have these conversations at the dinner table. The dinner table isn't just for feeding—it's for leading. Disciple your kids with truth, because somebody will disciple them. It's either the Word or the world.
If you struggle with same-sex attraction or any sexual sin: The enemy's lie is that you are your activity. He whispers, "You are your orientation. That's who you are."
But only Jesus gets to tell you who you are. And if you're a Christian, here's your identity: You are loved by God so completely that He died for you. That defines you. Nothing else.
"God loved, so he gave. And if you believe, you will receive eternal life."
That's the gospel. That's what the rainbow truly points to. That's what these three players were defending.
Love people. Destroy arguments. Refuse to bow. Speak truth. Show grace. And remember: your grandfather didn't die so you could be forced to deny Jesus.
