A rising star since 2013, Kendrick Lamar has become widely known and respected among the musical greats, and has even been coined the “biggest Christian rapper of all time.” Lamar has racked up Grammys for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance and Best Music Video, among others—but fancy awards and the lifestyle of the rich and famous aren’t what fuels this musician to greater heights.
His mission is to use the stage he’s been given to glorify God, by proclaiming His Truth to the masses. However, Lamar admits that his lyrics and professions of faith will never be a replacement for the Word of God:
“My word will never be as strong as God’s word. All I am is just a vessel, doing His work.”
Kendrick Lamar and TRUTH!
Unlike many Christian celebrities, Lamar is not in the business of preaching a watered-down Gospel. Accurately representing the extent of God’s love and mercy as well as His righteous judgment has been a challenge that few have mastered well, but Kendrick Lamar is determined to change that.
In an email to DJ Booth, the rapper expressed his concerns over this matter by explaining what he witnessed growing up church, where he first realized something was missing in the message.
“I went to a local church some time ago, and it appalled me that the same program was in practice.” said Lamar. “A program that I seen as a kid the few times I was in service. Praise, dance. Worship. (Which is beautiful.) Pastor spewing the idea of someone’s season is approaching. The idea of hope. So on and so forth.”
Lamar went on to explain the emptiness in the sermons he heard as a child that left him feeling spiritually unsatisfied:
“As a child, I always felt this Sermon had an emptiness about it. Kinda one sided, in what I felt in my heart. Fast forward. After being heavily in my studies these past few years, I’ve finally figured out why I left those services feeling spiritually unsatisfied as a child. I discovered more truth. But simple truth. Our God is a loving God. Yes. He’s a merciful God. Yes. But he’s even more so a God of DISCIPLINE. OBEDIENCE. A JEALOUS God. And for every conscious choice of sin, will be corrected through his discipline. Whether physical or mental. Direct or indirect. Through your sufferings, or someone that’s close to [kin]. It will be corrected.”
In today’s culture, it’s been an ever-popular trend to project the palatable side of the Gospel, while ignoring the obedience and discipline that God demands, along with the consequences of our sin.