Staying Grounded & Standing Firm In Your Convictions ft. Lecrae // Michael Porter Jr.

00:00:00.000 | [MUSIC]

00:00:10.000 | Man, I'm sitting here with Lecrae bro, appreciate you.

00:00:12.600 | I've been a big fan ever since, I can remember ever since I was a little kid.

00:00:16.840 | You know, I was listening to your music, I remember my dad put me on.

00:00:20.400 | Ever since I was like five to seven.

00:00:22.000 | So to be sitting here with you now, talking about.

00:00:24.000 | That's crazy.

00:00:24.600 | Everything's going to be cool, man.

00:00:26.200 | That's crazy.

00:00:27.200 | >> Yeah, so first off, I just want to ask you, so you in the celebrity spotlight.

00:00:31.600 | You in the rap culture, I'm in the NBA.

00:00:34.240 | How do you stay grounded and how do you not let,

00:00:38.480 | whether that's social media followers, people treating you like you're a guy at

00:00:41.920 | your concert, whatever it is.

00:00:43.920 | How do you stay grounded and just be like a regular guy with everything going on?

00:00:48.280 | >> Yeah, that's a good question.

00:00:49.120 | I think part of it is making sure I keep some of the people I came up with

00:00:54.360 | in my circle, you know what I mean?

00:00:55.720 | Like people who are not impressed with any, it's like they're not impressed with me.

00:01:00.920 | They're like, man, I know you, what are you talking about, you know what I mean?

00:01:04.720 | It takes some time,

00:01:05.400 | take your friends a little time to breathe the air that you're breathing.

00:01:08.600 | You know what I mean?

00:01:09.160 | It's kind of like, what is going on?

00:01:12.200 | But they still see you as yourself.

00:01:15.400 | So I try to keep those people around me.

00:01:17.000 | Two, I just always remember that nobody wakes up humble, man.

00:01:24.200 | You don't wake up humble.

00:01:25.160 | You wake up every day and you gotta chase humility.

00:01:29.160 | You gotta go after it.

00:01:30.760 | You don't wake up like, man, I feel humble today, boy, I'm just, you know?

00:01:34.920 | You wake up like, I'm the man out here, you know what I mean?

00:01:37.960 | So you have to go pursue humility and be reminded that.

00:01:41.320 | >> And plus, it's a balance for real, especially with me.

00:01:44.800 | And I know it's the same over there.

00:01:46.040 | When you're trying to be the best and you're still trying to stay humble,

00:01:49.520 | it's like you gotta have almost a healthy ego.

00:01:51.960 | That's a balance you gotta, I get on the court.

00:01:54.680 | And it's sometimes hard to think humility when my ego wanna tell me no,

00:01:58.840 | I'm better than every single person on the floor, you know what I'm saying?

00:02:01.840 | So, in your industry, it's so counter Jesus.

00:02:06.200 | And you obviously are, you don't consider yourself a Christian rapper per se,

00:02:11.760 | but you follow Jesus.

00:02:14.400 | And how in your industry do you do that and

00:02:19.720 | not lose yourself or not kind of adapt to the people you're around?

00:02:22.960 | How do you stay following Jesus?

00:02:25.360 | And do you have to put parameters around you?

00:02:27.800 | What do you do?

00:02:28.840 | >> Yeah, everybody, it's funny, we was talking about this, but

00:02:32.440 | it's like, I think everybody is a werewolf, you know what I mean?

00:02:36.000 | Everybody got a full moon.

00:02:37.560 | And when that moon comes out, you're gonna turn into an animal.

00:02:40.200 | You gotta know what your full moon is.

00:02:41.560 | So let's say, you have an addictive personality and

00:02:47.160 | you know if you get to drinking, you're gonna end up wilding out and going too far.

00:02:50.880 | So obviously, your full moon is alcohol.

00:02:53.080 | So it's kind of like if you're around it, you might spaz.

00:02:56.440 | So it's like either A, don't put yourself in positions where you're gonna be around

00:03:00.960 | it, or B, have somebody with you who knows how you get down and

00:03:04.600 | knows when you're around it that it could take you down the wrong path.

00:03:08.040 | And so it's just always trying to be like that.

00:03:10.760 | I mean, obviously, as a Christian, I believe that I have a power within me to,

00:03:15.360 | like, a supernatural power to keep me and hold me down and

00:03:19.840 | keep me from making bad decisions, but I'm still a human.

00:03:22.640 | So part of it is knowing your own struggles, your own vices.

00:03:26.960 | And then two, count the cost.

00:03:28.240 | That's what I feel like a lot of people don't do.

00:03:29.840 | They don't count the cost.

00:03:30.800 | Like, you could ruin a movement over a moment, you know what I'm saying?

00:03:34.840 | And that just happens all the time.

00:03:36.040 | You got a whole movement going on, and then one moment, and it's over.

00:03:39.840 | And it's like, man, it's not worth it, you know what I mean?

00:03:42.600 | >> Nah, that's facts.

00:03:43.560 | I think, for me, it's like you just said, is it an investment, or

00:03:46.960 | is it taken away from what I'm trying to do?

00:03:48.840 | But, like you said, every human get in certain moods where it's like,

00:03:53.520 | if you don't have certain parameters in place, you're gonna do something messed up.

00:03:57.280 | So for me, it's like, I know over time,

00:04:00.440 | making the same mistakes, going through the same cycles.

00:04:02.320 | I know my vices now at this point.

00:04:03.960 | So it's like, I know what I gotta stay away from.

00:04:06.600 | Part of the reason I'm on social media is because I know, for me,

00:04:10.640 | when I'm feeling down about whatever, a game or whatever, I'll run to social media,

00:04:14.840 | and I'll run to that attention, whether that's women's attention, or

00:04:17.520 | just the approval of others, you know what I'm saying, to give me that boost.

00:04:21.520 | And that wasn't really something I was trying to do.

00:04:25.560 | So for me, it's just something I had to take out of my life, and I'll go back.

00:04:31.880 | After a while, I'll get off of it, get back on it.

00:04:34.320 | And it's cool for a little bit, but then it creeps back in.

00:04:38.320 | >> Creeps it back up.

00:04:39.360 | >> And to me, social media has a lot to do with the problems in this world.

00:04:43.600 | And it's tough, because it can be a positive thing.

00:04:48.800 | >> For sure. >> But like you said,

00:04:51.160 | it's an investment for me.

00:04:52.680 | I know myself, it's just one of my downfalls, you know what I'm saying?

00:04:57.600 | >> A lot of people, man.

00:04:59.280 | This social media is rough, because it's kind of like this

00:05:04.800 | false sense of identity for a lot of folks, myself included, you know what I mean?

00:05:08.880 | So you gotta fight against that all the time, I definitely know what you mean.

00:05:12.000 | >> Yeah, for sure, and going off of identity.

00:05:16.160 | I was telling her before we talked, your song Identity in your Rebel album.

00:05:21.560 | One of my favorite songs you talk about.

00:05:23.880 | >> You go back, my ears go back.

00:05:26.440 | >> No, your Rebel album, that's my favorite album you ever dropped.

00:05:30.040 | And that song, you just talk about how you try not to find your identity

00:05:34.680 | in the things, or your career, your house, your success, whatever it is.

00:05:39.480 | You try to find your identity in God.

00:05:41.560 | But that's so much easier said than done, especially when you end in the career,

00:05:47.120 | or you end these moments.

00:05:49.320 | It's hard not to find your identity, for me, I know it is.

00:05:53.480 | When I have a bad game, and I see how just down I get,

00:05:56.680 | I know I'm not really finding my identity in God.

00:05:59.080 | A lot of times finding it through basketball, and

00:06:02.160 | it's hard because that's all I do all day.

00:06:04.240 | But how do you think practically you can find your identity in God?

00:06:09.560 | >> Practically, a lot of it comes down to spending time with God.

00:06:18.200 | You know what I'm saying?

00:06:18.900 | Because the more time you spend with somebody,

00:06:21.520 | the more their perspective informs you, you know what I mean?

00:06:26.920 | You feel closer to them, more connected to them.

00:06:28.760 | So the less time I spend with God, and when I say spending time with God,

00:06:31.360 | it's just being still, being quiet, prayer, reading my Bible,

00:06:34.240 | whatever that looks like, the less time I spend with them,

00:06:37.920 | the easier it is for me to believe lies.

00:06:39.600 | The more time you spend with truth, the harder it is to believe lies.

00:06:42.600 | You know what I mean?

00:06:43.200 | So it's like when I'm spending more time with God,

00:06:47.680 | then it's harder to believe the lies.

00:06:49.720 | It's easier to believe, yeah, this is where my purpose is.

00:06:52.160 | This is where my worth is.

00:06:54.000 | This is, and for me, some little things that I do,

00:06:57.920 | like I take a dry erase marker sometimes, and I'll write verses on my mirror.

00:07:04.520 | So when I wake up in the morning, I see it, and I'm reminded.

00:07:07.760 | You know what I mean?

00:07:08.520 | Just like, all right, I'm God's workmanship creator for things he planned.

00:07:13.240 | So it's like, all right, this is where my identity lies.

00:07:15.280 | Because like you said, everybody's on your head.

00:07:19.640 | Boy, people have been on my head for years about every little thing.

00:07:22.880 | And it weighs on you.

00:07:24.880 | People treat you like a product instead of a person.

00:07:28.680 | And you have to remember, you know what, man?

00:07:32.160 | I'm not who they say I am.

00:07:33.720 | I'm who God says I am, and just reminding myself of that.

00:07:37.200 | Yeah, no, that's big time.

00:07:39.600 | Because like you just was saying, it's about the input you put in.

00:07:43.800 | Like, I know me, and I know a lot of people.

00:07:46.760 | It's really hard to will yourself to be a good person,

00:07:49.720 | like to will yourself to grow every day.

00:07:53.360 | But the more you can fill yourself up with good stuff,

00:07:55.800 | the more you can spend time in the Word, spend time around good people,

00:07:59.000 | have good conversations, that's the only way it'll overflow out of you.

00:08:02.480 | And for so long for me, I was just trying to will myself

00:08:08.360 | to make the right decisions, and will myself not to do certain things.

00:08:12.000 | But as a Christian, that make it--

00:08:15.000 | your life is kind of like you're always guilty because you're not

00:08:18.640 | going to be perfect.

00:08:19.440 | And when you're trying to will yourself to be better, better, better,

00:08:22.320 | then you trip.

00:08:24.200 | Then it's like-- then you just back down in the dumps.

00:08:26.920 | You know what I'm saying?

00:08:28.040 | And that was a big problem for me for a long time.

00:08:31.120 | And that's kind of how I shaped my faith,

00:08:33.080 | was like it was a wrong perception of God

00:08:35.680 | because it was me trying to just not do stuff.

00:08:39.920 | And instead of spend time with Him, learn to love Him,

00:08:42.600 | and then do stuff out of that.

00:08:45.560 | So you know what I'm saying?

00:08:48.040 | So I know you talk a lot about how you lost your religion,

00:08:52.080 | and you found your faith.

00:08:53.960 | And I feel like that's something that I'm in the process of doing.

00:08:57.320 | So what do you really mean when you say you lost your religion

00:09:00.440 | and you found your faith?

00:09:01.920 | Yeah, religion, like you said, is when you

00:09:04.200 | are following rules in order to be accepted by God

00:09:07.920 | and accepted by people.

00:09:09.920 | Faith is what it takes-- sorry, I'm popping up on my phone.

00:09:17.600 | No, faith is when you have to believe that there's

00:09:22.880 | nothing you could do to make God love you more or make God love you less.

00:09:26.720 | The work has already been done.

00:09:28.560 | And so I think about it like this.

00:09:32.920 | It's like I went on a cruise one time, my first cruise I ever went on.

00:09:37.120 | And before I got on a cruise, I was excited.

00:09:40.120 | I was like, man, we're going to be on this cruise for five days.

00:09:42.800 | And then I started thinking to myself, oh, I got to pack for this.

00:09:44.920 | Five days on this boat in the middle of the water.

00:09:47.000 | And I didn't know any better.

00:09:48.200 | So I'm like, I'm packing snacks, all kind of stuff.

00:09:50.800 | Because I don't-- I'm like, you know how the food might be?

00:09:53.120 | I don't know what the food situation is going to be like.

00:09:55.160 | And I'm just bringing all this stuff.

00:09:56.760 | And he's like, you know, you don't got to bring all this food.

00:09:58.440 | And I was like, what you mean?

00:09:59.960 | He said, all the food is covered on the cost of the cruise.

00:10:03.440 | It's already been paid for.

00:10:05.960 | And I think that's how we treat our faith,

00:10:07.880 | is we try to add all this extra stuff to it

00:10:11.200 | instead of realizing all the price has been paid.

00:10:13.880 | Go enjoy the food.

00:10:15.520 | Be free to enjoy what's going on.

00:10:17.400 | Stop trying to earn it.

00:10:18.520 | Stop trying to build up.

00:10:20.840 | And because you're an athlete, that's all you know.

00:10:24.480 | You know if I work hard, I get results.

00:10:27.160 | But that's-- it's different with God.

00:10:29.160 | It's more like you get to work hard.

00:10:32.720 | You get to practice.

00:10:34.440 | You get to, you know, enjoy Him instead of like, you have to.

00:10:38.920 | Yeah, for sure.

00:10:40.640 | I feel like, too, like Christians,

00:10:42.880 | that makes a lot of Christians--

00:10:45.800 | like, from the outside looking in,

00:10:47.720 | I feel like people really think Christians

00:10:49.360 | could be the most miserable people because they're not

00:10:52.000 | living in freedom.

00:10:52.960 | It's like they're in chains, but they're trying to do good.

00:10:55.800 | But they're not necessarily doing good.

00:10:57.440 | So it makes this perception like Christians

00:11:00.480 | is just like always feeling guilty, always down.

00:11:03.720 | You know what I'm saying?

00:11:04.760 | And honestly, that could be the truth.

00:11:06.400 | And I think that's why the Bible is say, like, like,

00:11:09.360 | it's better to be hot or cold, either

00:11:11.000 | be all the way in the world doing everything the world do

00:11:13.400 | and be guilt free, or like, be all the way for Jesus.

00:11:17.920 | But I don't think by all the way for Jesus,

00:11:20.120 | that means that don't do anything wrong.

00:11:23.120 | It just mean like my dad brought up a quote the other day.

00:11:26.120 | He just said, like, it was a quote of someone that say,

00:11:29.960 | love God, and then do what you want.

00:11:32.200 | But like, really love God, and that's

00:11:34.160 | going to change what you want to do, you know what I'm saying?

00:11:36.160 | Big facts.

00:11:37.400 | Big facts.

00:11:37.960 | Everything else-- when you start with that,

00:11:40.040 | everything else after that, it makes sense.

00:11:43.360 | Love God, love your neighbor, and do whatever else you want.

00:11:46.480 | Because if you're loving God, you're

00:11:48.160 | not going to do stupid--

00:11:49.880 | stuff that's stupid and harmful to you,

00:11:51.800 | you know what I'm saying?

00:11:52.920 | You're going to do things that are helpful.

00:11:54.680 | Right.

00:11:55.880 | So how do you think the message in your music

00:11:58.720 | has changed as you've come to this reality?

00:12:00.680 | Like, early on in your faith, you

00:12:02.520 | talk about you was probably more like me in the beginning.

00:12:06.360 | And now, it's more you've come to this realization.

00:12:09.360 | You just dropped this Restoration album.

00:12:11.400 | You talk about that.

00:12:13.280 | How do you think that that has changed through your music?

00:12:15.600 | What was you really talking about early on?

00:12:17.440 | And now, what are you more trying to focus on?

00:12:20.000 | I think early on, man, you know, I was real self-righteous.

00:12:23.080 | Just real like, look at how I move.

00:12:26.640 | Look at how I do this.

00:12:27.560 | I don't do that.

00:12:28.360 | I don't do this.

00:12:29.880 | I don't do that.

00:12:30.720 | I don't do this.

00:12:31.480 | I don't drink.

00:12:32.240 | I don't smoke.

00:12:32.960 | I don't do-- you know, it was all about what I didn't do.

00:12:35.200 | Look at me, you know what I mean?

00:12:37.160 | Look at how I'm trying to follow God.

00:12:40.560 | And even though I was trying to encourage people to push

00:12:45.240 | and to fight, you know, to be what God created them to be,

00:12:49.040 | I think what I didn't understand is

00:12:52.120 | that I was more devoted to my devotion

00:12:56.000 | than how devoted God was to me, you know what I mean?

00:12:58.600 | So now, I'm not so much like telling people to get like me.

00:13:03.480 | I'm telling people, look, I understand it's hard.

00:13:05.960 | I understand that it's tough.

00:13:07.800 | But you got to keep going, keep taking steps.

00:13:10.200 | God is going to be with you in that whole process.

00:13:12.520 | Instead of like trying to will yourself to do it,

00:13:14.880 | like you were saying, it's leaning on God

00:13:17.920 | to be able to get you through.

00:13:20.280 | Because that's another thing I don't want.

00:13:22.680 | When you have that culture of like, get like me,

00:13:26.080 | when I'm making them type of songs, people love it.

00:13:29.520 | But then when they mess up, they don't want to come around you.

00:13:32.600 | Because they feel like, oh, y'all going to look down on me.

00:13:34.640 | I don't want to--

00:13:35.800 | I can't be around them.

00:13:37.560 | But when you write from the standpoint of like, hey,

00:13:41.880 | you know, there's mercy, there's goodness,

00:13:45.240 | and there's another way to live.

00:13:47.640 | And if you fail, it's OK.

00:13:50.120 | Get back up.

00:13:50.840 | Because there's another opportunity for you to keep--

00:13:53.200 | you know, restoration is available to you.

00:13:54.960 | And that's what I always want people to understand is like,

00:13:58.080 | you know, God is always available

00:14:01.240 | for your restoration.

00:14:02.240 | If you really want to change, he's here, no matter how bad

00:14:04.760 | it has been in the past.

00:14:06.440 | So I think that's how the music has changed.

00:14:08.320 | Because I've made a lot of mistakes, too.

00:14:09.680 | When you make some mistakes, then it's like, all right.

00:14:12.560 | Yeah.

00:14:14.520 | You know what I mean?

00:14:15.400 | Like, all right.

00:14:16.200 | That's a fact.

00:14:16.920 | Yeah.

00:14:17.920 | Yeah, that's a fact.

00:14:18.840 | How do you-- how do you-- so how do you relate to people?

00:14:21.160 | When you-- when you in this world of like,

00:14:23.200 | living in the rap world, you got a lot of friends

00:14:25.440 | who's living probably like, way different than you.

00:14:29.040 | How do you relate to them to a point

00:14:33.000 | so that you can be an influence to them, but also stand out?

00:14:36.080 | So like, I know, you know, some pastors

00:14:39.160 | or some people that want to reach certain people that

00:14:42.160 | are living way different.

00:14:43.240 | So they kind of got to like, blend in a little bit,

00:14:47.360 | but still differ from them.

00:14:49.080 | How do you do that?

00:14:50.760 | You know what's funny, man?

00:14:52.440 | People make it rocket science sometimes.

00:14:55.680 | I think what folks don't understand is,

00:14:58.200 | people will respect you for being yourself.

00:15:00.040 | You know what I mean?

00:15:00.920 | People don't-- people think like, you know,

00:15:04.800 | everybody got like, a vegan friend.

00:15:07.440 | And it's like, you know they vegan.

00:15:08.920 | It doesn't mean you're not going to hang with them no more.

00:15:11.000 | It's like, you just know when y'all go out.

00:15:13.360 | It's like, oh yeah, they ain't going to eat no burger.

00:15:16.000 | They might got Impossible Burgers though, bro,

00:15:17.640 | if you want to get an Impossible Burger or something

00:15:19.400 | like that.

00:15:20.200 | It's just-- but they're not--

00:15:21.920 | they're not hiding the fact that they vegan.

00:15:24.000 | They just-- this is what they about.

00:15:25.520 | And this is how they move and they function.

00:15:28.640 | And I think that's where my freedom was found,

00:15:32.040 | is I'm going to be myself, you know?

00:15:34.320 | I don't-- I'll be around you.

00:15:35.840 | Oh man, my bad, I'm smoking.

00:15:37.560 | Smoke?

00:15:38.360 | I'm not going to.

00:15:39.360 | You know what I mean?

00:15:40.320 | And I'm not going to judge you.

00:15:41.200 | I'm not going to condemn you for what you doing.

00:15:43.240 | Because at the end of the day, I'm

00:15:44.680 | not here to point out all the little things

00:15:47.080 | that you doing wrong.

00:15:48.880 | I'm here to be a picture of how good and loving God is,

00:15:54.360 | you know what I'm saying?

00:15:55.360 | And how my relationship with him has made

00:15:58.600 | some things better in my life, you know?

00:16:01.240 | A different look at peace and joy.

00:16:04.200 | So that's really-- I'm just there to be

00:16:06.640 | a light in those dark places.

00:16:09.040 | So when I'm around folks, man, I just try to be real.

00:16:13.240 | I don't try to be holier than thou.

00:16:14.840 | I don't try to do any of that stuff.

00:16:16.320 | I was in a studio with lots of rappers

00:16:20.640 | that people would be like, what you doing hanging

00:16:22.600 | out with these folks?

00:16:23.440 | But that's why they love me, is because I

00:16:25.440 | don't mind being around them.

00:16:27.000 | You know what I mean?

00:16:27.880 | You think early on, early on, like with that,

00:16:30.760 | you had to be careful about how much time

00:16:32.480 | you spent early on in your walk with God.

00:16:34.160 | Because you got to really be like Jesus hung with the sinners.

00:16:37.720 | But it's because his faith was so strong.

00:16:39.560 | But early on, like in someone's faith walk,

00:16:42.200 | they might got to be careful being around those dark places

00:16:45.360 | because it might bring them down.

00:16:46.760 | You think you evolved to that spot

00:16:48.560 | where nothing can shake you no more?

00:16:50.240 | Yeah.

00:16:50.720 | Or you think it was always like--

00:16:51.800 | Nah, nah, nah, nah.

00:16:52.960 | I had to-- you know, you grow there.

00:16:54.600 | You grow into that space.

00:16:56.000 | Like early on, I made a lot of mistakes

00:16:59.200 | because I thought, like you said, I was invincible.

00:17:01.400 | Like, I can do this.

00:17:02.840 | The thing is, it's like somebody saying, man,

00:17:05.840 | they see you on the court.

00:17:06.920 | And they're like, I could do that.

00:17:08.360 | You know, they're watching you.

00:17:09.640 | They don't know how many hours of practice you put in.

00:17:11.520 | They don't know how many shots you get up

00:17:13.160 | when nobody's looking.

00:17:14.040 | They don't know how many plays you memorize.

00:17:15.720 | And they don't know all of that.

00:17:16.960 | So a lot of times, people are like, oh, yeah,

00:17:18.720 | I could go to the BET Awards.

00:17:20.000 | I'd be straight.

00:17:20.560 | Or I could go hang with these people.

00:17:21.760 | And it's like, you don't know how much, you know,

00:17:24.160 | meditation and prayer I done put in, how much studying

00:17:26.600 | of my word I done put in, how much barriers and boundaries

00:17:29.400 | I put around myself in order to be able to walk

00:17:32.040 | in these spaces and places.

00:17:33.840 | Because if you don't, you know, then, yeah,

00:17:37.400 | of course you're going to fall.

00:17:39.160 | Yeah, right.

00:17:40.640 | So, man, this is called Curious Mike.

00:17:42.800 | We talk about anything on here.

00:17:44.160 | Like, that's why I called it Curious Mike.

00:17:45.880 | Because I'm going to just talk about stuff

00:17:48.240 | that I'm curious about and just stuff

00:17:49.680 | that I feel like a lot of people want to ask,

00:17:51.560 | but they might be hesitant to ask.

00:17:53.560 | So, like, with the drinking and the smoking,

00:17:56.440 | like, I remember I hit you up a while ago.

00:17:58.400 | And I was just wondering, like, is this a sin?

00:18:00.760 | Because God put it on the Earth.

00:18:02.120 | So, like, as long as I'm not addicted to it

00:18:04.640 | and I'm moderate in it, what--

00:18:06.040 | and then I'm going to ask you, like, what do you think of it?

00:18:08.240 | Or, like, even drinking.

00:18:09.400 | I know people that, like, use drinking, like, way too far.

00:18:13.120 | And they take it way too far.

00:18:15.760 | But, like, you know, for me, it's not that.

00:18:18.760 | But, like, all in all, what do you think about the drinking

00:18:21.440 | and the smoking?

00:18:22.880 | Yeah.

00:18:25.120 | You know, I got to--

00:18:26.360 | I mean, here's the thing.

00:18:28.880 | It first comes down to, are you--

00:18:33.440 | are you a Christian, right?

00:18:34.720 | Because if you're not, then there's different--

00:18:37.360 | then you following a whole different set of beliefs

00:18:39.800 | and views and values.

00:18:41.200 | So if you say, yeah, I'm a follower of Jesus, OK, cool.

00:18:45.320 | So then I can use the Bible as our kind of North Star,

00:18:50.080 | in a sense, to talk about stuff.

00:18:51.600 | Right.

00:18:52.400 | Cool.

00:18:53.200 | All right, bet.

00:18:54.000 | So let's look at that, then, and see what that says for us.

00:18:57.200 | And what I-- what I understand is, you know,

00:19:00.080 | obviously, the Lord tells us to be sober-minded.

00:19:03.680 | And the idea of being sober-minded is just, man,

00:19:05.600 | are you-- are you always ready to--

00:19:09.280 | to withstand the darts the enemy's going to throw at you?

00:19:11.760 | Because if you drunk, you not ready.

00:19:13.360 | You know what I'm saying?

00:19:14.560 | You not ready.

00:19:15.600 | Them darts is coming, and you out of there, champ.

00:19:18.560 | So it's, are you sober-minded?

00:19:21.440 | And, you know, all throughout the Bible, it uses, you know,

00:19:25.520 | Jesus turned water into wine.

00:19:26.720 | It doesn't condemn alcohol.

00:19:28.160 | It condemns drunkenness.

00:19:29.200 | Right.

00:19:30.000 | You know what I mean?

00:19:30.800 | So it comes down to you being able to follow

00:19:35.200 | your convictions, because you got

00:19:36.480 | your own internal convictions about.

00:19:38.240 | And if you are doing something you feel is wrong,

00:19:40.720 | then you sinning against your own conscience in that moment,

00:19:43.440 | because you know you feel convicted about it.

00:19:45.760 | So you wrong, you know.

00:19:47.280 | And Romans 14 talks about, you know,

00:19:48.960 | some people are weaker in this area.

00:19:50.800 | Some people are not in this area.

00:19:52.960 | So when it comes to smoking, I feel

00:19:58.240 | like anything that enhances your ability to be a light

00:20:03.760 | and to represent the kingdom is--

00:20:06.880 | I don't have a problem with it, right?

00:20:08.160 | If it's enhancing your ability to be a light,

00:20:10.480 | and it's not a detriment, you know what I mean?

00:20:12.880 | It's not tearing you down, hurting you,

00:20:14.560 | hurting other people.

00:20:15.520 | It's not illegal.

00:20:17.280 | Cool.

00:20:19.040 | But at the same time, you got to have your own barrier.

00:20:21.520 | You got to know where that line is drawn for you.

00:20:24.240 | I, personally, I'm not a smoker, you know what I'm saying?

00:20:28.000 | But I have friends who are.

00:20:29.600 | I have friends who are Christians, and they smoke.

00:20:32.880 | That's not a line I dabble with, because I don't know--

00:20:36.480 | like, alcohol, I know.

00:20:37.600 | One shot, all right, two shots, and then it's a wrap.

00:20:40.400 | Like, now I may be going past my limit.

00:20:42.640 | Smoking, it's like, I don't know how much

00:20:45.600 | took me past the limit, you know what I'm saying?

00:20:47.600 | So-- but that's me.

00:20:49.200 | That's where I'm at with it.

00:20:50.240 | But at the end of the day, I think you just

00:20:51.360 | got to abide by your conscience.

00:20:52.880 | And then, I don't try to look for how far I can

00:20:55.920 | go before I'm too far.

00:20:57.840 | I try to look for how close to God I can be.

00:20:59.920 | And that's what I always try to strive for.

00:21:01.600 | Yeah, that's the idea.

00:21:02.640 | That's the ideal way, see how close you could be.

00:21:04.960 | But I like what you said about the conscience,

00:21:07.440 | because I've had this conversation

00:21:08.400 | with a lot of people.

00:21:09.120 | And I think, like, there's a lot of things

00:21:11.840 | in the Bible that is black and white.

00:21:13.440 | Like, you can do this, you shouldn't do this.

00:21:15.520 | And there's, like-- there is some gray areas.

00:21:17.760 | And, like, as Christians, like, you might have

00:21:20.400 | a conviction that someone else don't have.

00:21:22.960 | And I don't really-- I don't like when, like,

00:21:26.400 | Christians try to judge other people because--

00:21:28.800 | just because their convictions are different

00:21:30.240 | than another Christian's.

00:21:31.120 | Because, like, people struggle with different things.

00:21:33.760 | We talked about this before we start the interview.

00:21:35.440 | But just, like, knowing yourself and knowing

00:21:37.840 | your own vices, what you would run to when you're--

00:21:40.080 | when you're feeling, like, down or something.

00:21:42.880 | Like, if that's something you would run to,

00:21:44.640 | then probably stay away from it.

00:21:46.080 | Because-- but, like, if it's just something

00:21:48.160 | that you're using in moderation,

00:21:49.440 | like, I feel like it's--

00:21:51.040 | Moderation is key, baby.

00:21:52.320 | Food, alcohol, sugar, moderation, baby.

00:21:58.720 | Shrooms.

00:21:59.520 | I don't know.

00:22:00.240 | LSD.

00:22:01.120 | That's eight hours, you gone.

00:22:02.480 | You're out of there for eight hours.

00:22:03.680 | I don't know.

00:22:04.240 | Can you rep it?

00:22:04.880 | Can you be a kingdom by comparison?

00:22:06.800 | I just want to try it one time.

00:22:08.240 | I'm cool.

00:22:09.280 | I'm actually really good on that.

00:22:11.280 | I don't want nothing controlling me for eight hours.

00:22:14.000 | I'm good.

00:22:14.960 | Get me off the bus.

00:22:15.920 | Let me off the bus.

00:22:17.280 | I feel you on that.

00:22:18.960 | Man, last thing I really want to talk about was the--

00:22:21.920 | just your-- your, like, how--

00:22:24.880 | how big you are into, like, the social justice.

00:22:27.120 | And, like, you-- that seems like that's something

00:22:28.720 | you're really into right now and pushing for right now.

00:22:31.280 | How-- what do you see in our world is the biggest way

00:22:35.520 | that you can help and the biggest issues

00:22:37.440 | in our world right now in that area?

00:22:39.760 | Yeah.

00:22:40.560 | Well, one is-- is, man, we don't listen to each other.

00:22:44.560 | You know what I'm saying?

00:22:45.360 | We don't listen to each other.

00:22:46.400 | We don't hear each other's stories.

00:22:48.240 | We don't try to see where other people are coming from.

00:22:50.320 | We don't try to learn.

00:22:51.440 | We-- no, we-- we just want to talk over everybody.

00:22:53.520 | That's why I don't like Clubhouse, you know, the app.

00:22:56.000 | I heard about that.

00:22:56.800 | What is that app?

00:22:57.360 | It's basically, like, we're-- it's social media,

00:22:58.960 | but everybody's talking.

00:23:00.240 | You know what I mean?

00:23:00.720 | So instead of, like, typing or posting pictures,

00:23:03.360 | you just talk.

00:23:04.320 | And it was dope at first.

00:23:05.200 | But then everybody just started talking over each other.

00:23:06.800 | Nobody's listening to each other.

00:23:07.840 | Everybody an expert in their own little spaces.

00:23:09.840 | And so if you are a learner, you know,

00:23:13.040 | you can learn from people.

00:23:14.320 | And learn from their perspectives.

00:23:15.920 | But if you think you've got it all figured out,

00:23:17.680 | of course we're going to end up like this.

00:23:21.120 | Because now you-- what you're saying is,

00:23:22.880 | I have nothing to learn from you.

00:23:24.560 | You know what I mean?

00:23:25.280 | So even people I really disagree with,

00:23:28.640 | I just like to know why they believe what they believe.

00:23:31.920 | You're just trying to learn.

00:23:32.880 | Yeah, exactly.

00:23:33.920 | So I could say, OK, I see where you're coming from.

00:23:35.840 | Have you considered this?

00:23:37.760 | You know what I mean?

00:23:39.120 | And I think that creates a lot of problems.

00:23:42.000 | And so, you know, when we don't listen to each other,

00:23:46.320 | we're not learning from each other.

00:23:48.800 | And we're not learning what different issues are

00:23:50.720 | and different problems.

00:23:51.440 | And when you on the top, you know what I mean?

00:23:53.200 | Like, you don't need people.

00:23:55.360 | And when I say need, like, I'm making money.

00:23:59.360 | I live in a nice neighborhood, whatever.

00:24:02.240 | I don't need the people in the hood or in the projects.

00:24:07.680 | I don't need y'all.

00:24:08.480 | So I'm not listening to y'all.

00:24:09.760 | Y'all don't have nothing to offer me.

00:24:11.280 | Y'all need to listen to me.

00:24:12.240 | I'm the one with the money and the nice house.

00:24:13.920 | And that's where the problem comes.

00:24:15.200 | Because they're trying to tell me what's going on in their world.

00:24:18.960 | And I'm saying, I know better than y'all.

00:24:21.840 | Y'all don't know what's going on.

00:24:23.040 | And I think that just creates a lot of tension.

00:24:25.440 | I'm saying with race and ethnicities, too.

00:24:28.240 | Nobody's listening.

00:24:29.280 | We're trying to tell y'all this.

00:24:30.640 | It's like you can't have an opinion no more.

00:24:33.200 | Nope.

00:24:33.840 | Or they'll cancel you.

00:24:35.120 | You canceled yourself.

00:24:35.920 | You took yourself off social media.

00:24:37.120 | Go right on, bro.

00:24:40.080 | Man, speaking of that, I remember that situation with George Floyd.

00:24:45.680 | And how that went down and how heartbreaking that was.

00:24:49.600 | And I remember seeing that video and being in tears, being devastated.

00:24:53.600 | And I remember tweeting-- there was three tweets.

00:24:57.040 | The first one was just like, man, that's murder.

00:25:00.720 | I just witnessed murder.

00:25:02.160 | The second one was like, that's heartbreaking.

00:25:05.440 | It brings tears to my eyes watching that video.

00:25:07.280 | Something else.

00:25:08.400 | And then the third one was like-- because when you see stuff like that, you go to the

00:25:13.040 | barbershop or wherever, where there's a lot of black people, and then they're all talking

00:25:16.080 | about that.

00:25:16.640 | It can cause black people, when you see stuff like that, to have a hatred towards white

00:25:21.360 | people, in a way.

00:25:22.320 | And when I see stuff like that, that's kind of what starts to creep into your head, no

00:25:28.000 | matter how hard you try not for it to.

00:25:30.240 | And so then I remember thinking, man, but what would God say?

00:25:33.360 | And I remember the third tweet I tweeted was, as much as you pray for George's family and

00:25:39.840 | how heartbreaking it is, also pray that God would change the hearts of these police officers

00:25:45.360 | that would even have the intent to do that.

00:25:47.760 | And that tweet, the first, for a little while, it was just my followers that seen it.

00:25:52.320 | And it was like, man, that's big time, bro.

00:25:54.560 | Good perspective.

00:25:55.680 | Then some people saw it and was like, hold on.

00:25:57.680 | He's talking about pray for the officers that just murdered this dude?

00:26:00.880 | Man, when I went there, then some famous people started having backlash on it.

00:26:06.480 | And then after that, everybody talking crazy.

00:26:08.960 | And everybody saw it, and people was really hurt by it and not understanding what I said,

00:26:13.680 | and not understanding the tweets that I had tweeted prior to that.

00:26:17.600 | And that was hurtful for me, just because of how much that stuff affects me and what

00:26:26.160 | I see when I see that video.

00:26:27.520 | But I just remember you hit me.

00:26:29.120 | Do you kind of remember what your thoughts was in that situation, what you were thinking?

00:26:33.920 | Some of it.

00:26:35.040 | I remember saying-- there's a few things that come to mind.

00:26:39.040 | One is just like, man, you know, it was the timing.

00:26:44.480 | Right.

00:26:44.960 | You know what I'm saying?

00:26:45.600 | It was just the timing, and everyone's grieving George Floyd's death.

00:26:50.880 | And sometimes truth isn't received when it's received in a time where people aren't prepared

00:26:58.320 | to receive that.

00:26:59.120 | You know what I'm saying?

00:26:59.840 | And so it's kind of like, you know, if your mom or dad or cousin got locked up, and you're

00:27:08.640 | sad about it, but they really committed the crime, and someone's like, yeah, well that's--

00:27:13.360 | You're not trying to hear nothing.

00:27:14.320 | It's like, you know, oh, they're locked up.

00:27:18.320 | You know?

00:27:18.640 | So that's-- it was more of the timing.

00:27:20.560 | And then, you know, obviously, social media is the place where people are going to misunderstand

00:27:26.800 | you.

00:27:27.040 | And especially you coming from a Christian perspective where love is our North Star,

00:27:33.760 | it's really difficult.

00:27:35.120 | Because when you try to promote love, some people hear acceptance.

00:27:38.560 | Right.

00:27:39.280 | It's like-- so you're saying, hey, man, love your enemy.

00:27:41.760 | So I need to accept what they did to me?

00:27:43.440 | No, we're not saying accept it.

00:27:45.440 | We're saying love.

00:27:47.040 | Love doesn't tolerate injustice or accept it.

00:27:51.280 | Love still hates what's done, but it still tries to flesh out what it looks like to be

00:28:02.320 | consistent.

00:28:02.960 | So--

00:28:03.200 | No, I definitely-- the timing thing, I definitely was feeling that.

00:28:07.520 | If I could take it back, it probably would have been based on the timing.

00:28:10.000 | But at the time, it was to my followers.

00:28:14.320 | You know what I'm saying?

00:28:15.680 | I didn't know the whole world was going to see that, Joanne.

00:28:18.480 | Like--

00:28:18.800 | Oh, they did.

00:28:19.360 | You know what I mean?

00:28:20.320 | Oh, they did.

00:28:21.280 | That's why I called you.

00:28:22.000 | Because I was like, man, everybody's just going to say something.

00:28:24.640 | And no one's going-- like, I hate that.

00:28:26.800 | Just talk to me.

00:28:27.520 | Talk to me.

00:28:28.800 | Don't come at me on social media.

00:28:30.720 | Yeah, yeah.

00:28:31.520 | So yeah, now, like sometimes the-- like in Jesus's way, this happened back then.

00:28:36.240 | And I feel like it's even more prevalent now.

00:28:38.000 | Like what Jesus would preach was so counter-cultural to what people thought was right.

00:28:43.680 | It was like he was killed for it.

00:28:45.600 | Like he was killed for the message he was speaking.

00:28:47.280 | Even though it was like about love, people don't know how to receive that.

00:28:51.040 | And I feel like that's another thing wrong with the world today.

00:28:53.520 | It's like people don't even understand-- like it's almost like God said like in the end days,

00:28:59.760 | good is going to become evil, and evil is going to become good.

00:29:03.280 | And I feel like we're getting close to that almost.

00:29:05.280 | Like so do you see that in this culture today?

00:29:09.520 | Oh, yeah, absolutely.

00:29:10.560 | Without a shadow of a doubt.

00:29:12.160 | You know, it's just a society now where we-- I think we tolerate-- we tolerate everything.

00:29:24.800 | And when you tolerate everything, some things are not good.

00:29:27.760 | You know what I'm saying?

00:29:28.720 | They're wrong.

00:29:29.680 | And when it's wrong-- when it becomes wrong to put your foot down and say, I don't agree with this,

00:29:40.160 | then like you're saying, evil becomes good, and good becomes evil.

00:29:43.280 | So tolerating nonsense or foolishness becomes good.

00:29:46.720 | And then putting your foot down and saying, hey, we don't do this becomes bad.

00:29:54.320 | You know what I'm saying?

00:29:55.440 | And so that's a unique place, man, where I think for me, there's a lot of things that--

00:30:04.800 | obviously, we all got a lot of learning to do and unlearning to do.

00:30:07.760 | So I'm always trying to learn and unlearn.

00:30:09.520 | But I can follow a person-- like when people disagree with me,

00:30:14.640 | I can follow a person who stands by what they believe in.

00:30:19.040 | At least I know what you stand on.

00:30:20.720 | You know what I mean?

00:30:21.360 | And so I'm like, all right, cool.

00:30:24.160 | Now, can we have a discussion about it?

00:30:25.760 | Because somebody may be looking at things from the wrong perspective.

00:30:30.160 | And when we can do that, then I'm like, good.

00:30:33.440 | But we're not able to do that no more, which makes me feel like, all right, well, here we go.

00:30:37.360 | We get into that time period, wars, rumors of wars.

00:30:41.040 | I mean, Christ said-- he said when he was alive that they were in the last days

00:30:49.600 | and the last days are coming.

00:30:50.720 | So I think it's just a long time period of us being in the last days.

00:30:56.240 | I don't know when he's coming back.

00:30:57.520 | But I do know it's been consistent.

00:31:00.720 | It's been consistent.

00:31:02.640 | But it ain't no way we're going to be here for more than, what, 100 years.

00:31:06.560 | I think it's going to happen in our generation, to be honest.

00:31:09.200 | Well, we got some work to do then, you know what I'm saying?

00:31:11.920 | We got some promotion to do.

00:31:13.760 | We need to start promoting this kingdom.

00:31:16.960 | How much of that good looked at as bad and bad looked at as good do you think

00:31:24.240 | comes from the music industry and the rap culture, like multiple women now?

00:31:28.640 | If you were a dude who only talked to one girl, and you only got one girl,

00:31:31.920 | and you ain't cheating on her now, you kind of looked at a square these days.

00:31:34.480 | Or if you ain't doing this, now you looked at it as soft.

00:31:38.640 | If you ain't promoting violence or whatever, how much of that do you think?

00:31:42.080 | Because you in the music culture, how much do you think stems from that?

00:31:46.160 | Art imitates life that imitates art.

00:31:49.760 | So I think there are some parts of it that are real.

00:31:53.600 | But then when people learn, oh, if I rap about this, I make money.

00:31:59.280 | So I'm going to rap about it a lot.

00:32:02.640 | And then the world says, oh, well, I need to imitate what I just saw more.

00:32:09.520 | You know what I mean?

00:32:10.240 | And so I think some of it is real.

00:32:12.560 | And then music talks about what's real.

00:32:15.520 | But then when music does it, it glorifies it.

00:32:18.080 | And then people really start--

00:32:19.440 | Messing with it.

00:32:21.040 | Exactly.

00:32:21.520 | You know what I mean?

00:32:22.160 | So I think that's really what happens.

00:32:24.080 | And I see it all the time, where--

00:32:26.160 | I mean, even like myself, people just see something, and they want that.

00:32:32.240 | Like, for me, being a Christian, and then breaking all these barriers.

00:32:36.320 | Oh, you doing BET, and you winning the Grammy.

00:32:38.560 | Like, first rapper to do all this stuff.

00:32:41.200 | A lot of young Christians who rap saw that.

00:32:45.600 | And that's what they went after.

00:32:47.120 | Just the awards, and the limelight, and the fame and stuff.

00:32:49.920 | And not the heart that went behind it.

00:32:53.040 | So yeah, you saw it all happen.

00:32:56.080 | And you was like, oh, I need to be a part of it.

00:32:58.000 | I need to do this.

00:32:59.200 | And I think that's what happens a lot of times, too.

00:33:00.800 | It's like, some kid who never thought about being a gang member, who never thought about

00:33:04.000 | none of that stuff, is listening to some Chicago Drills dudes.

00:33:06.960 | And they like, yeah, that's what I'm on.

00:33:09.760 | And it's like--

00:33:10.260 | And plus, it's way harder to make it the way you made it than it is to rap about what everybody

00:33:16.160 | else is rapping about, I feel like.

00:33:17.200 | Way harder, bro.

00:33:18.000 | I'll be jealous.

00:33:19.680 | I'm not going to lie to you.

00:33:20.560 | I'm jealous.

00:33:21.040 | I've been telling people, like, you're so lyrically genius.

00:33:24.880 | If you was a secular artist, you would be all the way up there.

00:33:28.560 | Bro, it's so easy to get in the studio and freestyle--

00:33:32.640 | About anything.

00:33:33.360 | About anything.

00:33:34.160 | Yeah.

00:33:34.640 | Oh, my gosh.

00:33:35.520 | I could go for hours.

00:33:36.720 | I could make 50 million songs.

00:33:38.720 | But to have to like, all right, I'm going to say this.

00:33:41.840 | And I'm going to think through this.

00:33:42.960 | It's work, man.

00:33:44.640 | Is there any pressure that come with, like, when people think of, like, you know, Christian

00:33:50.240 | rap, which you don't really like being put into that category.

00:33:54.880 | But is there pressure being like, the dude?

00:33:57.200 | Like, when they think of that, they think of Lecrae.

00:34:00.400 | Like, is it pressure to come with that?

00:34:02.160 | It's pressure at first.

00:34:03.440 | And then you own it.

00:34:05.360 | At first, it's pressure.

00:34:07.360 | Then you own it.

00:34:08.240 | And it becomes, this is what I do.

00:34:11.200 | You know what I mean?

00:34:12.000 | So it just becomes, this is what I do.

00:34:13.840 | So let me make sure y'all get a good representation of this.

00:34:19.360 | You know what I mean?

00:34:19.760 | Because it's what I do.

00:34:20.560 | Same with you.

00:34:21.200 | It's like being on a court.

00:34:22.480 | It's like, you know, is it pressure being at the highest level of basketball?

00:34:27.280 | And it's like, sure.

00:34:28.400 | But then it's like, man, I've been doing it, you know, so long.

00:34:33.040 | I've been playing so many games.

00:34:35.280 | This is what I do now.

00:34:37.520 | Yeah, you ain't nervous no more.

00:34:38.640 | You said that in your music.

00:34:39.600 | You said, I've been doing it so long.

00:34:40.880 | I don't get nervous.

00:34:42.400 | Yeah, that's facts.

00:34:44.720 | Now, I got one last question for you.

00:34:46.640 | So why you choose Jesus?

00:34:50.160 | Was there ever a period in time where you wanted to explore your faith?

00:34:54.080 | I went through this probably a year and a half, two years ago,

00:34:58.000 | where I didn't know what I believed.

00:34:59.280 | I didn't know what I wanted to believe.

00:35:00.800 | Why you chose Jesus instead of anyone else?

00:35:04.480 | I'm definitely like a thinker.

00:35:07.680 | And I remember studying world religions, you know, before I was like,

00:35:13.200 | I'm landing my plane on the Christian faith.

00:35:15.280 | And I've had rocky roads and doubts and all that type of stuff in the journey.

00:35:18.240 | But really what solidified it for me was, as I looked at the world's religions,

00:35:23.760 | and I mean, you can go through them all, right?

00:35:26.080 | Which I did.

00:35:26.800 | I went through all the ones that I knew about anyway.

00:35:29.120 | When you talk to people, and I have good friends who believe,

00:35:36.560 | who are Buddhists, who are Muslim, who are agnostic.

00:35:40.160 | I got some Rastafarian friends.

00:35:42.400 | When you talk to them all, and you say, man, how do I get to God?

00:35:49.280 | How do I get to him?

00:35:51.040 | All of them will tell you, there's something you got to do.

00:35:56.880 | There's something you got to do.

00:35:58.880 | You got to do this, and then do this, and then do this.

00:36:03.040 | Or you got to do this.

00:36:03.760 | Exactly.

00:36:04.880 | You got to perform.

00:36:05.840 | And I said, man, that's just hard.

00:36:08.880 | Who knows?

00:36:10.400 | No one knows.

00:36:10.880 | Everyone's dying like this.

00:36:12.720 | You know what I mean?

00:36:13.520 | I hope I get there.

00:36:14.320 | And Jesus is the only one that said, all you got to do is trust me.

00:36:20.960 | I performed already.

00:36:23.200 | So every other faith, you got to reach up to try to get to God.

00:36:27.920 | But Christ reaches down and pulls you up to God.

00:36:32.480 | And I was like, I'm done.

00:36:33.760 | Because I know I'll never be perfect.

00:36:35.040 | Man, you know how messed up you are, right?

00:36:36.560 | That's what it was for me too.

00:36:38.000 | I know how jacked up I am.

00:36:39.680 | So if every other religion, you got to perform and do enough to make it.

00:36:43.600 | Christianity is the only one where it's like, nah, someone came and saved you.

00:36:46.640 | That's the one I'm rocking with.

00:36:49.040 | I'm rocking with it.

00:36:50.080 | And Christianity has almost become now, like we talked about this earlier.

00:36:53.360 | But it's almost become, in this day and age, a little performance based.

00:36:57.280 | You know what I'm saying?

00:36:58.000 | But real Christianity, I mean, it's just about faith and believing.

00:37:05.280 | Not that weird old stuff you see on TV, OK?

00:37:08.000 | Not that weird old stuff.

00:37:09.120 | We're talking authentic.

00:37:11.360 | I don't even-- sometimes I just be saying, I'm a believer.

00:37:13.520 | I don't even want to say I'm a Christian, because I know people are like, oh, you're like--

00:37:16.320 | Yeah, I'm a believer.

00:37:17.840 | I'm a believer.

00:37:18.560 | You know what I'm saying?

00:37:20.480 | This day and age, some people just talk about God too.

00:37:22.800 | They don't even mention what God.

00:37:24.480 | They say they believe in God.

00:37:25.760 | That's true.

00:37:26.640 | Or I feel like a big movement these days too is, you know, the new age type of religion,

00:37:32.560 | where you're kind of like almost your own God, like you're trying to become your own.

00:37:35.760 | Giving the universe all the credit.

00:37:37.360 | Yeah, it's like-- and that's-- I ain't gonna lie.

00:37:40.560 | That's what I-- I had dabbled in a little bit.

00:37:42.560 | I was going to the crystal store to get my little crystals.

00:37:44.880 | I heard they was going like, whatever.

00:37:47.360 | Like, that's-- and that too, it's like, why make yourself your own God?

00:37:54.400 | Like, that's trying to will yourself to be better.

00:37:57.760 | Amen.

00:37:58.960 | I'm with-- I think God puts all those things here for us to enjoy.

00:38:04.720 | And they're useful in their own ways.

00:38:06.880 | Yeah.

00:38:07.200 | You know what I mean?

00:38:07.920 | I agree.

00:38:08.560 | As far as, you know, like meditation or yoga, all those things can be beneficial.

00:38:13.360 | But when it becomes-- when it becomes God, then we in trouble.

00:38:18.000 | I think even like, yeah, like you said, even astrology or something.

00:38:21.520 | There might really be some truth to them zodiac signs or like a story told in the stars or

00:38:26.560 | whatever.

00:38:26.880 | But then when that becomes like your basis for like living in faith, that's when it becomes

00:38:31.120 | dangerous.

00:38:31.600 | Right.

00:38:32.160 | I agree with you 100%.

00:38:33.600 | Yes, indeed.

00:38:34.560 | Man, well, I appreciate you.

00:38:36.000 | It's been dope.

00:38:36.880 | We talked about a lot of stuff and I appreciate you, my guy.

00:38:39.440 | My guy.

00:38:40.240 | Respect.

00:38:40.740 | This episode was sponsored by Lemon Perfect.

Staying Grounded & Standing Firm In Your Convictions ft. Lecrae // Michael Porter Jr.

Chapters