What Matters When It Comes to Kanye West
I’ve never been to Kanye’s Sunday service. If you’re reading this, there’s a 99% chance you probably haven’t been either.
I wasn’t at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church while Kanye visited. And, I didn’t sit in the congregation of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church while he did what seemed to resemble offering praise to God. Most people I know don’t live in Chicago or Atlanta, so I’ll assume you weren’t in attendance either.
Everything we know about Kanye and his new conversion to Christianity is via social media. Wait! Everything we know about Kanye period is via social media. WAIT! Everything we “know” about most people we “know” is via social media. And, therein lies the problem. We didn’t know Ye before, and we don’t know him now. But let me tell you who does know Kanye Omari West, Jesus Emmanuel, Christ.
Instagram, and the like, do an amazing job of making whatever you see seem like reality. It has the unnerving habit of shining light on any and every possibly monotonous moment in our regular lives. It helps you believe that you personally know and understand the life and heart of that girl you spoke to just once in high school. Instagram, however, is not God; through it, you cannot see everything, be everywhere and know the heart of everyone you follow or like.
So, when it comes to Kanye, I’ll tell you what matters. What matters is Christ’s opinion of Kanye. And, let me tell you what does not matter. What does not matter, in any way, is your opinion of Kanye. What’s happening with Kanye through his services is a matter of his accountability to the God he’s claiming to serve.
My God, Kanye’s God, is a God who saves the sinner, strengthens the weak, heals the broken and restores the wrecked. He’s yet to create the perfect person and so he’s not in the business of dealing with them. He’s in the business of dealing with us, all of us, however messed up we are, have been and will always be. His grace has been given to us because we need it.
Between Kanye telling Sway that he, “ain’t got the answers,” his Taylor Swift interruption, his Famous video, his marriage, his rap feuds, his Twitter rants, his meetings with the current president, his outlandish (and almost unforgivable) slavery comments, he’s had much more than his fair share of controversies. Not to excuse him, but he’s clearly suffered from mental instabilities since the death of his mom and possibly even before that. But what we see as unforgivable and inexcusable, Jesus has redeemed. He came to save us from ourselves, from our messiness and from our own private controversies. On the cross, He exchanged our wrongs for His righteousness. In our belief in Him, our trust in His goodness and grace, every terrible thing we’ve done is made right and forgiven.
Yes, Ye has been off and has gone off before, but so have you. And who better for Christ to use than someone who can show off His best work. This would be another thing if Kanye was being blasphemous, he’s not. Let me tell you, when God gets your attention and you surrender to His chase, the way your life changes is undeniably something only God could do. When you accept Christ into your heart, there is proof of your conversion. The Bible calls this proof, “fruit.” It describes Jesus as the vine, whereby we can only produce this fruit in Him. This proof, or fruit, is shown through love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It’s yet to be seen if Kanye does or will exude these fruits, but that’s between him and God. So maybe Kanye’s genuine, or maybe he’s not, but either way Jesus CAN save him and regardless, he IS using him. Maybe his fruit will be seen through his actions, maybe it won’t, but maybe it will surely be seen through young people around the world who had never paid attention to Christ before.
Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, says who cares how the good news of Jesus is shared, as long as it’s shared and God gets the glory.
“To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice”
God promises to spread His gospel across the earth, to extend to all nations, ages and races. Who better to help fulfill His will than an international celebrity?
So the next time we decide to judge Kanye for his services, salvation or what you may see as sac-religiousness, let’s remember how much glory God gets when our attention is turned toward Christ. What matters is Christ.
Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.
- Philippians 1:11 MSG
