The name “Diddy” Sean Combs may not be familiar to some of us, but it is to millions of people who know him as a rap artist who has built a multi-billion dollar empire based on his music and other businesses, and is the winner of three Grammy awards, two MTV Video Music awards and a Guiness World Record for the ‘most successful rap producer” in 1997. Recently, Combs has been the subject of a US Federal indictment case for physical and sexual abuse stretching through years of infamy and violence. He was the manager for another rapper by the name of Notorious B.I.G. who was murdered in a drive-by shooting involving gangs, likely related to his involvement in drugs and gang violence. He was 24. But drugs, guns, gangs, sexual assault and overwhelming immorality doesn’t stop there. Last year (November 2023), another rapper called Young Thug faced gang-related charges. The curious part of his case was that the judge allowed the lyrics of one of Young Thug’s songs as evidence. I searched out that song, and would not repeat any part of it here because it is replete with expletives, and glorifies the killing of the police and the terror of gang violence. That song peaked at #7 on the US Albums top 100 songs.
As I consider the terrible legacy left behind by these individuals whose lives demonstrate an inability to blush at sin, I admit that I am deeply troubled not just by their lifestyles, but by the millions of young people who hail them as heroes – both in music and in life. Certainly, this is evidence that popularity isn’t the best measure of morality. But popularity is a measure of influence. I am similarly troubled that those same young people are leaving church by the thousands and into the worlds such as the ones of Diddy Combs, or Notorious B.I.G., or Young Thug among many, many others, all corrupted by the soul-killing poison of sin. Jude describes the days of Enoch, seventh from Adam, who ached for a young world populated by “grumblers, malcontents, loud-mouthed boasters, following their own sinful desires” (Jude 16). Peter described Lot who was “greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked for he was tormented over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard” (2 Peter 2:7-8). May I ask for us who care about what goes on in our world to pray for young people? May I ask us to act on being the voice of the gospel in the midst of this world’s din? May I ask us to work on staying the course of godliness to be salt and light to those who are lost? I remember reading Zechariah 11:6 as an encouragement for each us: “Love the lost; seek out the young; heal the wounded; feed the strong”. There is much to do.
Just Church
This is what Just Church seeks to do – to point us to Jesus “The vision of Just Church is to establish a church in just the way Christ called the church to be – true to His Word, loving Him, loving one another, and loving the lost.”
