The singer said that he knows some people won’t understand his decision to quit the music industry. They might be upset or even think he’s following some “sky God,” but Smith is at peace with these responses. He referenced Mark 8:34-35, where Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
“That image of taking up that cross, the most gruesome form of execution, to take up that cross and follow and deny himself, that form of self-denial is something I’m just not doing,” said Smith. “In country music, when I get up on a stage and just need glorification and need praise, and if I don’t get it, then that means my career is not doing well, and so I work harder for that—I can’t reconcile those two things ya’ll.”
Smith said that he is not criticizing any other musician who can “do music and succeed in denying themselves.” It’s just that he is “not very good at it.”
His upcoming “Like a River” tour, which begins April 13 and, according to Smith, will go through Labor Day, will be focused on showing gratitude to his fans. The singer has toured for 24 years and called the change difficult, yet “so exciting.”
“I just want to glorify God the best way that I can,” said Smith in the caption of his video. “Lord willing, I want to be used to help people find their purpose.”
