Not Like us
You may be aware that this past summer we witnessed a generational battle between two of the most influential hip-hop artists of this decade.
Kendrick Lamar and Drake have had a rumored long-standing beef, which boiled to the surface this summer as the two traded diss tracks. The final blow, which scored the victory for K-Dot, was the song “Not Like Us”, which accused Drake of being a culture vulture, desiring only to latch onto what is popular for the moment and not being a true fan or student of the art of hip-hop.
In Acts Chapter 10, we witness the story of Peter and simultaneously of Cornelius. Both of these men receive visions from God. Peter’s vision is a message from God declaring that those things which were once unclean are now clean and that the law of God has been fulfilled in Jesus. Cornelius’s vision tells him to find Peter and listen to what Peter has to say.
This moment we’re reading about is in the infancy of the church, and we are watching Christianity, or “The Way” as it was known, go from a local movement to a global phenomenon.
Maybe you’re wondering, what in the world does this have to do with idolatry in our lives? (Thanks for sticking around and for asking!) This passage shows us clearly that God’s plan has ALWAYS been that the whole world would be redeemed back to Him. God doesn’t play favorites; He loves all people equally.
The idol God is exposing in our lives is the idol of exclusion, prejudice, and partiality. If we favor one group of people over another based on race, class, age, or ANYTHING, we have raised ourselves up as an idol, now placing ourselves in a place where only Jesus can sit.
As followers of Jesus, we must not bow to the idol of preferring those “like us.” Our hearts must resist any prejudice, as it is in direct opposition to the Gospel.
To defeat the idol of exclusion, we need to see the world as God does. Peter said clearly in Acts 10, “God doesn’t show favoritism.” If God doesn’t have favorites, why would we? Consistently, we see throughout history that it is the Devil’s goal to divide, and so it is true that our world seeks to classify people and divide them.
God, however, sees us only as we are—lost and in need of a Savior. When we worship ourselves and our own experiences, we start to reflect culture, classifying others as “like us” and “not like us.” To God, humanity is creation in need of salvation. When we place our thoughts, culture, race, class, or opinion over God’s, that is idolatry.
We also fight this temptation of idolatry by trusting Jesus as the only righteous judge. Judgment isn’t our job, but we spend a lot of time doing it.
James wrote to the early Church and emphasized the necessity of not being people who show favoritism or judgment but rather lovingly serving everyone, no matter what (James 2:1-5). For when we judge others, we have supplanted Jesus’ role as judge and placed ourselves in a position of authority and power.
I don’t have anything against you, but you aren’t God, and I’m certain that you’d do a lousy job of being God. So don’t try to be Him by taking Jesus’ place as the true and righteous judge. Free yourself from that burden, and don’t settle for the idol of yourself.
