Several years ago, a fellow writer gave me a piece of advice: “When everyone around you is zigging,” he said, “find a way to zag.”
That’s exactly what Christians ought to be doing right now when it comes to Lil Nas X, the rapper whose new song, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” shows him sliding down a pole into hell and dancing explicitly on Satan’s lap.
The video is, without question, distributing and offensive. It’s an affront to all we know to be true from Scripture. But Lil Nas X is also giving believers an opportunity: a chance to put the words of the apostle Paul into practice.
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As Christians, we have an obligation to expose sin. In his letter to the believers in Ephesus, Paul urged them not only to “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness,” but also to “expose them,” because “the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:11).
Our exposure, though, has to be Gospel-oriented.
The Holy Spirit should produce within us the right temperament and heart to listen with empathy and to speak truth hopefully. In his letter to the churches of Galatia, Paul said the Holy Spirit should cultivate the fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
It’s a singular fruit — not many. We have to practice these things at once, in tandem with our obligation to proclaim truth. Because if we don’t do that, we will be, as Paul told Christians in Corinth, nothing more than “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).
Gospel-oriented people are hope-filled people.
We listen quickly, we speak purposefully, and we get angry slowly (James 1:19). While we’re right to condemn what is out of step with the Gospel, we need to remember why we’re doing it. We’d do well to remember Jesus spent time with the outcast (Matthew 9:9-13), He comforted the unwanted (John 4:4-30), and He healed the demon-possessed (Mark 9:14-32).
Christians call out evil because of our devotion to Jesus and then because we’re commissioned to share the Good News of our Savior with a hurting and searching world. In the days after His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples to leave Galilee and meet Him on a hillside. When they arrived, the disciples’ first act was to worship their risen Savior. Then Jesus gave them a job to do.
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” Jesus told them (Matthew 28:19-20). “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
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Lil Nas X also announced a collaboration with MSCHF, a company that customizes shoes — in this case, Nike Air Max 97s. The custom sneakers have been dubbed “Satan Shoes” and reportedly contain 60cc of red ink and a drop of human blood in the soles. They also come with a pentagram pendant on top of the laces and include a reference to Luke 10:18 embroidered along the side.
The beautiful irony is, even in an attempt to mock God, the truth is inescapable.
Luke 10:18 alone reads, “‘Yes,’ he told them, ‘I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!’” But in its full context, it bears out the truth of Jesus’ promise to His followers: to be with them “always.”
During His earthly journey to Jerusalem, Jesus sent out 72 messengers, indwelling them with all the power that comes with His name. When all the disciples returned, they told Jesus, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name” (Luke 10:17). Jesus went on to foreshadow Satan’s ultimate defeat, when he will be cast out of heaven forever (John 12:31).
“Yes,” Jesus told them (Luke 10:18-20), “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
As Christians, we are compelled to condemn evil. In doing so, we also need to guard against seeing people like Lil Nas X as enemies. He’s deceived. But rather than responding in anger, we should react with truth in love, knowing that — in all things and in every circumstance — Jesus promises to be with us “even to the end of the age.”
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