Chasing the Wind

Via Michelle Malkin, I read that Ambra Nykol has lost her job and that Michelle thinks the Mainstream Media should hire her for her fresh, interesting, and diverse point of view. Off I go to check her out.

I find this very well written post about rapper Kanye West’s song, “Jesus Walks.” Nykol examines the lyrics to see if it’s just another “live like you want and Jesus will still endorse you.” In other words, God protect me, be with me, give me strength while I go about praising sex and drugs and shooting cops, as though a watered-down God is somehow some great genie that serves us.

There is the general belief among many artists that it’s okay to live one way and drop in the name of Jesus al a carte. We’ve all heard the award acceptance speeches over the years:

“Yes I know I just took most of my clothes off and shook my butt on the stage while singing and simulating dry sex on the dance floor, but thank you God, the head of my life for allowing me to make this album and blessing me with my talents.”

Then there’s my personal favorite which goes a little something like this:

“First I want to give honor to God for helping me to make this album which diametrically opposes everything moral or righteous and allowing me to continue to make money in spite of my filthy lifestyle, DUIs, arrests, and complete and utter disregard for human life. I love you Jesus.”

Meanwhile, we sit on the sidelines and applaud these people like they’re doing big things for the name of Jesus. The Stellar Awards nomination committee didn’t think so. They pulled “Jesus Walks” off the list of songs nominated for a gospel music award when they found the rest of West’s album objectionable in content.

And Nykrol knows exactly what’s wrong with this – Jesus never says he’ll walk with us. He asks us to walk with Him. And oh how I know that’s right – most of my errors in my life can basically boil down to, “Jesus, I’m going this way, come along, don’t be so slow, what’s wrong with you?” It took years for me to figure out that Jesus had a plan, and years more before I submitted to Him to follow him. What can I say, I’m a slow learner. Even today, I still forget this lesson and try to lead Jesus somewhere. “Come on, you slowpoke!”

I’m sorry, but this fluffy stuff is not going to be what gets this generation from where we are to where God needs us to be. Does Jesus love the world? Absolutely. He loves pimps, hos, prostitutes, corporate extortionists, murders, liars, thieves, adulterers, and even I. But God’s intention was that we would recognize His love, repent (change our way of thinking), and live our lives in a way that pleases Him. We crucify Jesus every day when we fail to properly acknowledge His sacrifice. This isn’t a game. People are dying and it’s going to take more than some shallow messages of Jesus that stroke us and make us feel better about our sin and lack of obedience.

I’ve added Nykola to the blogroll. And somebody hire her, ok? 🙂