Recently, I have been engaged in hearing debates about secular artists making and/or singing gospel music and gospel artists making and/or singing secular music. I refuse to engage in this specific debate because I believe that it is birthed out of a much larger theological question that most in the “quarry of quarrel” fail to interject. This question can be framed in a variety of ways. Why do we do ministry? What is the overall purpose in our Kingdom assignment? What is the overall objective we attempting to achieve in what we say we are doing for the Lord? It is with these questions that I ponder, “What do we as individuals want the world to know about who we really are.”
A very well-known singer, rapper, or entertainer could make a gospel movie, produce and sing on a gospel album, or even act in a gospel play, but after all the lights are turned off, what message does their living convey? The pastor of the church or the church member could come into the house of the Lord every week, preach and teach, sing and shout, and do all the things associated with Christian worship, but after Sunday worship is over and everyone has gone home, what message does their living convey? I pray that you see where I am going with this.
The God we serve is of no respect of person as Romans chapter 2 tells us and this is the first issue that much of society gets itself incorrectly wrapped up in. God does not care about the identity society has placed on you whether you are a household celebrity or just an individual trying to make it from one paycheck to the next. In both cases, each of these previously stated individuals may hold some level of popularity and esteem in a variety of circles; however, God does not concern himself in the vain, pompous, and ostentatious characteristics of the popular because he is looking for those that are seeking to be peculiar.
The popular are those that Paul speaks of in Romans 2: 8-9, “But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil.” The peculiar are those that God is setting apart to show that his redemptive power can release people into an everlasting freedom directly tied to the character of Jesus and the relinquishment of seeking the world’s goal of popularity. As Jesus said from the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not consume and where thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
We in the body of Christ are called to “judge not, lest we be judged”, but please be conscience to the fact that the Lord will judge us on whether or not we were more “popular” or more “peculiar” in this life. If our Christianity is lived in a “momentary” status or in a way that we choose to be Christian when the mood suits us as not to offend others or to partake in “chameleon activities” that fall into the territory of the popular then we should take heed to where this type of ill-consistency of living will lead us. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that God is looking for his chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and his special possession that will declare the praise of him through Jesus Christ, who has called us out of the darkness into his marvelous light.
All God wants to know is: “Do you want to be Popular or Peculiar?”
Peace and Blessings.
~ Rev. E. Shon Hagwood, M.Div.
