Vocation

Drake, the hip-hop mogul and rapper of global fame, came out with a single entitled “God’s Plan” a few weeks ago. To be completely honest, I think the song is actually really good. The beat, like much of Drake’s work, is danceable and inventively suave. The lyrics resemble his thoughts on how through adversity he has been blessed with success and a group of people that have helped him achieve it. “I can’t do this on my own,” he says, “Someone watchin’ this real close.” The music video for “God’s Plan” features Drake personally handing out cash and cars to numerous impoverished people living in Miami, Florida. In total, Drake gave away $996,931.90, his entire production budget his label gave him for filming the video.

As I watched Drake give away the hefty stacks of Benjamins, and new Acuras, I was proud of him. Most rappers glorify their wealth or their riches and their ability to waste it all without recompense. Yet, I still had a moment of pause. At the Ash Wednesday service, the gospel I read regarded the giving of alms. In the verse, Jesus tells his disciples to give so that their, “left hand does not know what they’re right hand is doing.” With over 31,000,0000 views and counting on Youtube, I’m not quite sure if the video has really gone according to “God’s Plan” (pun intended.) The question I now pose is this: should we as a society be grateful that such an acclaimed artist is doing good for those who most need it, or should we remember that Jesus asks us to give in secret, without recognition?