Chik-Fil-Ye

I have a confession to make. I’m probably one of the whitest white boys there is. I can’t dance, I try to sing, and I can be as awkward as they come. With that said, my big confession is: I am a closet hip hop and rap fan. I’m pretty sure even my wife is just finding this out as she reads this. When I’m alone, I will occasionally throw on some Andy Mineo, Tedashii, or Lecrae. I won’t describe to you any more about how that looks. But it’s pretty white.

Upon hearing of Kanye West’s confession of faith in Jesus Christ and the subsequent release of his new album ‘Jesus Is King’ I was definitely (albeit secretly) intrigued. Following the announcement, naturally the public’s reaction came swiftly and loudly behind. I can’t say I was surprised at the secular response. What did surprise me was the Christian reaction. There seem to be two basic responses by Christians toward Kanye West finding eternal salvation in Jesus. One reaction is “Yay God!” And the other, much more troubling reaction is “We’ll see...”. What I mean by the “We’ll see...” response is people meeting the news with cynicism, pessimism, doubt, suspicion, and perhaps even jealousy.

Why is the “We’ll see...” reaction so troubling? It breaks my heart that someone who calls themself a Christian would allow their initial reaction be one of cynicism and ultimately, judgement toward their new brother in Christ. The Word of God says that all of heaven rejoices when one person comes to faith in Jesus. Why then do we take license to withhold celebration over someone who was once dead and is now alive, who was blind but now sees, a man who was SO lost but who is now found? Why is our reaction as the body of Christ not an overwhelming “Hallelujah!” over a man who was headed to hell as an orphan but is now called a son of God?

Who was it that withheld affection or attention to the prostitute who barged in on dinner to pour perfume that was worth A Year’s Wages on the feet of Jesus? The Pharisees scoffed at her presence and saw her offering as a waste! Jesus, on the other hand received her and forgave her of her many sins. In Luke 7, Jesus tells the parable of moneylender and two debtors. Simply put, one owed a little and the other owed a lot. The lender forgave both debts because he saw that neither could pay to which Jesus asked the Pharisees “Which of them will love him [the moneylender] more?” They replied, “the one who was forgiven more.” Jesus said “Yup!”

There are so many parallels with this parable and Kanye West’s salvation! Just like the prostitute, we know Kanye’s past. We have seen his sin on display because his life is on display as a celebrity. Both the prostitute and Kanye came to a point in their lives as sinners where they recognized Jesus for who He is. I’ve heard it suggested by the “We’ll see...” crowd that this album is just a money grab, a gimmick to sell more records. In today’s post Christian society nothing could be further from the truth. Kanye has most likely committed professional suicide in proclaiming his faith and boldly producing a record that is overtly and loudly Christian. He’s not gonna be boosting his record sales.

Perhaps this is another parallel to scripture...Kanye’s social persona and identity has to die. Perhaps Kanye has to die to himself to Live with Christ like what Paul wrote in Galatians 5:24. Philippians 3:7-8 says,

“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ”

Back to my point, the Pharisees were the ones who scoffed at the prostitute for giving her life to Jesus. But the interesting thing behind that is while her sins were obvious, they were sins none the less. The Pharisees weren’t without sin either. The Law of Moses consists of 613 laws and 10 Commandments and the requirement of that law was to keep all of them, all the time, without fail... perfectly. If you break one, you break them all. And the consequences of sin is death. (Rom. 6:23) No man, apart from Jesus himself has been able to keep all of the Law. Sin is sin and sin equals death. The Pharisees were, according to the Law of Moses, equally guilty of sin and deserving of death as the prostitute.

The “We’ll see...” crowd seems so show a reluctance to celebrate the forgiveness of another’s debt because they only see the sin according to the Law but fail to see the finished work of Jesus in their own life. It’s easy to scoff at another’s public sin while we secretly hide our own “little sin”.  According to the Law, you, me, Kanye West, Billy Graham, and your pastor all deserved death and hell for our sin. Jesus alone paid the debt in his death and resurrection. We are all equally guilty and we are all equally forgiven but only through faith in the Finished Work of Jesus.

Listen to the song “Hands On” from Kanye’s Jesus Is Lord album. He calls the church out by saying that the Christians will “be the first ones to judge me/ Make it feel like nobody loves me”. It is that kind of attitude that brings a spirit of ugliness to the Bride of Christ. What if Christians as a united body and Bride celebrated along with the angels in heaven when one comes to salvation in Him? Kanye West has a platform to reach a HUGE population and now he’s been saved and he intends to use that platform to lead people to Jesus. Instead of meeting that with speculation or cynicism (which are not from God), we should gather around our brother to love and encourage and celebrate his salvation. Our response as the Body of Christ has the power to bring life or death. We can either support and edify or crush and choke out a new Christian by our words and actions. There’s really only one acceptable option. Hear me out, I’m not saying all Christians have to rush out and buy his album and start listening to hip hop. You aren’t being expected to -all of a sudden- like his music or his creative style, however you ARE expected to love and support him as a brother in Christ. Further in his song “Hands On” he directly asks for the church to pray for him! Pray that he doesn’t get distracted from his new life! Maybe you’re saying “We’ll see...” because you don’t want to pray for him.

The world is watching us. If Jesus is really as great as we say He is, the world is watching how we treat our brothers. If we treat him with cynicism and unbelief, what value does the Gospel really carry?

Kanye West, this may never ever reach your eyes but I Love You and I am praying for you to draw deeper and closer to the Father. May your cup overflow with the Father’s presence. I am lifting up Kim and all of your children to be overcome with His Presence as you seek His face. Thank you for your boldness and obedience to the Gospel. I can’t wait for your next project! I love you brother!

Awkwardly white,

Brice Eugene