I remember in the fall of 2019, rapper Kanye West made headlines with his self-proclaimed conversion to Christianity. Most people reacted to the news with shock, intrigue, and morbid curiosity: was it real? Was it a stunt? Was this all to promote some upcoming Kardashian special?
The release of his "Jesus is King" album only fueled worldly speculation and hot takes, but smart money was always urging the same approach to understanding what was happening: patience.
I'd say with these headlines, a mere four years later, we have our answer:
Not that it took this long to deduce if the rap mogul's heart had been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. No, producing soul-devouring pornography is just the next step on the worldly cycle of insanity that West has been on for some time.
There was the time he echoed the devil and proclaimed that "collectively, we are God."
Then came the moment he told Alex Jones he "especially" saw some good in the genocidal maniac Hitler:
He followed that up by running for president with a swastika/Star of David logo.
But while it's no surprise to see West far off the reservation of sanity these days, starting a pornography company is a neck-breaking 180º for a dude that tweeted this so boldly, confidently, and accurately:
What is it they say? Life comes at you fast?
In the end, besides praying for West and his wayward soul, I would still argue that the most productive thing for Christians to do in light of the news is to take it as yet another cautionary tale as to why we should never jump at the opportunity to proclaim a high-profile celebrity (or politician) a convert to our cause, lest we end up being lumped in with their purely attention-seeking antics. This seems particularly prescient advice given the recent professions of faith by tattoo celebrity Kat von D, and "Only Fans" star Nala Ray.
The pattern repeats itself with stunning frequency: A famous figure makes a public confession of Christ and Christians everywhere immediately break into two groups:
- GROUP A: Those who go crazy with excitement, immediately elevating the supposed convert to spokesman of American Christianity.
- GROUP B: Those who mock group A and embrace an arrogant condescension toward the reported convert, expressing no excitement at the prospect of a lost soul coming home.
Then, when it falls apart like it has with Kanye, that the conversion was all an attention-grab and the seed fell on rocky ground, Group B puffs themselves up and sings a round of "I told ya so." If Group A is non-discerning, Group B is cynical and sneering.
Neither model the counsel of Scripture.
God's Word tells us the wisest course of action is to restrain our emotional impulses, and instead choose to react in a way that is humble and obedient.
Remember, Paul writes to Timothy that when selecting the leaders of our churches we should not choose a recent convert. There's an immaturity there that should be expected: Not criticized unfairly, but not celebrated irresponsibly. Paul also instructs us not to look down on anyone whose faith is less developed and mature than our own.
We are all in need of Jesus to help the otherwise hopeless cause of our own souls, and I can't fault anyone for being excited that Kanye might have humbled himself before His Savior and King.
