The Sacrifice Of Being Obedient As A Christian Rapper... (Part 2)

Editors note: If you missed Part 1 of this article you can read it here.

In Part 1 we dissected some of the motivations behind what drives the approach utilized by much of CHH... and attempted to highlight how too often it starts to mirror the secular music industry. My hope is we can dive a little deeper into the problems with that trend and then illuminate some solutions.

To do this, we really should put into perspective what attributes typically influence our worldly counterparts. I don't think anyone would argue against the notion that pride and bravado are rampant in the music industry, particularly in Hip-Hop, which was largely built on the precepts of battling & showmanship. The entire traditional music industry was constructed around a competitive model intended to drive record sales.

Everyone is garnering for the top spots on music charts and awards. It's inherently baked into the pursuit of a music career, and for those who do not follow God, those pursuits don't present as significant an issue to the value system they're derived from. It's the same value system that looks to wild nature as an example of how to operate. Dog eat dog. Survival of the fittest. Pack mentality, replete with a hierarchy & social pecking order dictated by popularity or brute strength.

As a short aside, it's also a system that functions in a parasitic fashion toward the very people it supposes to endorse... Preying upon unsuspecting artists and creatives to supply the lifeblood of enormous profits to cunning and unscrupulous middle-men who contribute very little creativity yet reap the bulk of the financial rewards.

If any of this sounds counter-intuitive to the Gospel, congratulations! You must have been paying attention in Sunday School or have done the work of being a good Berean. It's totally contrary to the priorities scripture exhorts us to exhibit!

Jesus said a man can not serve two masters. A natural implication of that principle is that prioritizing conflicting philosophies is neither effective or sustainable. As artists who profess to follow Christ, we can not embrace the ideology and strategy of a mindset solely intended to enrich and amplify ourselves while simultaneously reflecting the principles of the Gospel, which compel us to esteem others higher than ourselves and demonstrate sacred reverence toward God. The two are not compatible.

So how do we approach solving this problem as sincere believers, in a way that is more congruent with the example we're given in scripture?

Perhaps the first step is recognizing WHY we do what we do. Most Christian artists can recognize this or at least speak enough Christianize to sound convincing. At face value we say we make music to worship & honor God, to share the Gospel with the lost, and to encourage and/or rebuke believers.

Do we back it up though? I would like to posit the next challenge for anyone who is sincere in the goal stated above, is to back up our words with actions that are consistent with what we're saying or portraying.

To do that we have to shed the weight of self-centric and self-serving expectations and recognize that our individual platform, reach, and popularity is much less crucial to being used by God than obedience, humility & perspective. We must ask the question: What does me achieving fame or notoriety contribute to the Gospel?

John The Baptist spoke to this with a rather simple statement that contrasts our ambitions with the rightful place of Christ. "He must increase, but I must decrease." That really says a lot about what our approach to ministry should entail. When we endeavor to become the focal point, our ego seeks to rob Christ of His rightful glory.

It's not just a matter of ensuring we properly acknowledge Christ in his rightful position of prominence though. There's another component which scripture instructs us to be mindful of.

How we relate to other people matters... tremendously! The spirit of competition often leads to a tendency to tear one another down. We justify this pattern by rationalizing that it's simply a necessity of pursuing excellence. Unfortunately, this tendency conflicts directly with multiple attributes scripture compels us to embrace. Kindness. Meekness. Charity. Humility. Gentleness. Patience. Long-suffering.

Interestingly, some people in the "industry" will also justify being cavalier about how they treat other artists by claiming it is to make them better. The problem with that claim is that it denies the value in the model of discipleship presented in scripture.

When the Apostles pursued the great commission, they did so by coming alongside new believers and showing them what TO do, not just telling them they weren't good at following Christ. They walked with them. They role-modeled and mentored them, focusing on developing them in Godly character rather than focusing on their shortcomings.

Did they articulate sin and their need for a savior to them? Sure, but that's where the analogy falls flat because making music that someone subjectively doesn't perceive as good, isn't a sin, strictly speaking. So, if we say as Christian artists that we want to challenge people to be better, perhaps there is more value in investing in their development than in declaring their inadequacies?

There's an old adage that while not explicitly stated in the bible, is certainly a principle expressed in scripture. Many hands make light work. We can simply declare other people don't know how to do what we're doing OR we can invite them to come along & learn. Ironically, when we do that, we actually ease the burden on ourselves. All we have to do is be willing to sacrifice some of the glory...

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭12‬

“Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”