Christian rapper Trip Lee hit "reality show righteousness" by saying that Christians should instead live out the righteousness that is in Christ Jesus.
The Christian Post reported that Lee made his speech on a Dec. 29 conference to the Cross for the Nations 2020. There, the rapper called out the attitude of "reality show righteousness" where people publicize their good deeds.
"Reality shows play into things about human nature that were true even before reality shows existed. We love drama, but also we love to be seen," Lee said.
According to him, today's culture and even social media has taught people to publicize their good actions like doing good is something of a performance. Some even go out of their way to film their good deeds and show it to the public.
Lee added that Christians seem to 'perform' to impress God and other people, much like with a reality show where contestants do their best behavior and even change it for the sake of the people watching them. In his speech, Lee emphasize that "Jesus wants more from us."
"What happens when somebody's watching you? You begin to change how you act. The eyes start to compete with the task itself, and it can get in the way. Jesus wants more from us than just doing the right stuff. Jesus also wants that stuff to come from the right heart. If we're doing good things for bad reasons, we're robbing ourselves of good rewards, and that's at the heart of what Jesus is talking about."
In a Bible passage in Matthew 6, Jesus explained how believers should pray. The passage of Scriptures also included a description of people who pray for the sake of impressing others and called them "hypocrites" which is actually the Greek word for "actors."
Using Matthew 6 as a reference, Lee rephrased the story and brought some humor to it by describing a 'hypocrite' who blows the trumpet before giving to the poor to ensure he gets the public's attention.
"Now isn't that the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard?" said the Christian rapper.
Lee added that Christians should concentrate instead on loving God, not impressing people. He mentioned that instead of performing to impress, Christians should be bold and do good without thinking about what other people might think or say about them.
After warning the people of "reality show righteousness," he urged them to gain the freedom of knowing God's approval in Jesus.
"There is a freedom knowing that there is approval for you in Jesus. When we know we have God's approval in Jesus, we can fear God and do what we want. We can give freely without wondering how holy we look to people around us. We can rejoice in God alongside others instead of trying to use them, instead of envying them because they look holier than us," Lee said.
For Lee, believers should trust God to reward them and not seek reward from others.
"What do those rewards even look like? The Bible doesn't give us that line by line exactly... Trading His rewards for earthly rewards is like trading real money for Monopoly money."
