What Kanye West's Grammys Stunt Teaches Us about the Lure of Immorality and Biblical Purity

Jim Denison

Kanye West is an American rapper and record producer. He made news a few years ago when his album, “Jesus Is King,” debuted at No. 1 on the charts. He said of it, “Serving God in everything that I can do is my job.” He also launched Sunday Service, a Christian worship group. Now, he and his wife, Bianca Censori, are making news of a completely different kind.

A Stunt That May Cost West $20 Million in Japan

At last Sunday’s Grammy Awards, Bianca Censori walked the red carpet in an entirely see-through dress. (I will not link to articles covering the story since, even with the images blurred, they are entirely too revealing.) West reportedly orchestrated the spectacle as he encouraged her to “make a scene” and later wrote, “My wife is the most Googled person on the planet called Earth.”

A Hollywood public relations expert commented: “What Kanye understands better than any other celebrity or talent is the game of public relations. His strategy is that all press is good press, and there’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

In addition to the sad fact that a purported Christian would arrange such a sinful display, there’s this: Grammys officials did not receive a single complaint, nor were grievances sent to the police. As a result, the couple will not face censure over whether she violated dress code rules.

By contrast, the stunt may cost West a $20 million concert deal in Japan, where investors are reportedly “extremely upset” by what the couple did at the Grammys, making it “highly likely” that they will withdraw funding for his scheduled shows in Tokyo.

So investors in a nation that is less than 1 percent Christian are upset by a public display of nudity, while viewers in a nation where 66 percent identify as Christians are not.

Three Reasons Satan Employs Sexual Temptation

The Apostle Paul constructed four lists of sins to beware. In each, “sexual immorality” comes first (Galatians 5:19–21; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Ephesians 5:3–5; Colossians 3:5–9).

Why, of all the sins we can commit, are sexual sins so dangerous?

Asked differently: Why does Satan, who “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10), especially employ sexual temptation in our culture?

One: Satan Hates Humans

God loves us (Romans 5:8) and creates us in his image (Genesis 1:27). Our enemy, therefore, encourages sexual immorality because it dehumanizes us and subverts the sanctity of human life.

Kayne West commodified his wife’s body for his personal ends. Pornography does the same to men, women, and (horrifically) even children. In addition, porn causes structural brain damage and heightens stress, anxiety, and depression. Premarital sex is directly linked to higher divorce rates. And sexually transmitted diseases (which would not exist apart from sex outside marriage) are now an epidemic, causing 2.5 million deaths a year.

Two: Satan Hates Marriage

God created marriage as the foundation of a flourishing society. Our enemy, therefore, tempts us into sexual immorality because it undermines and destroys marriage and the family.

According to the National Institutes of Health, 88 percent of divorced couples identify infidelity as a major factor in the breakdown of their marriage. Divorce rates double when men and women start watching porn, which undermines trust and vulnerability, emotional intimacy, and healthy sexual relations in marriage.

Three: Satan Hates Christians

We are the children of God (John 1:12). Our enemy, therefore, tempts us to commit “private” sins because he knows they will inevitably become public and devastate us.

Over half of practicing Christians admit they view pornography, undoubtedly believing that no one will know or be hurt by such sin. However, private sin “grieves” and “quenches” the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19), hindering his sanctifying power and our usefulness in God’s kingdom (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:3–5; Hebrews 13:4).

How gravely have clergy sexual abuse scandals damaged the church and our reputation in the culture? How many ministries have been destroyed by “private” sexual sins that became public? Satan loves to watch Christians who commit “private” sins scale the ladder of visibility and “success,” knowing that the higher they climb, the further they will eventually and inevitably fall and the more damage they will cause when they do.

Four Steps to Personal Purity

In Rescue Plan: Charting a Course to Restore Prisoners of Pornography, Deepak Reju and Jonathan D. Holmes note that Satan uses four areas to tempt us: access, anonymity, appetite, and atheism. To defeat him, we need to respond to each with biblical truth and practical wisdom.

Step One: Access

Do whatever is necessary to make it as hard as possible to view pornography or be tempted by other sexual sins. With reference to lust, Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29). We can install internet porn blockers, position televisions only in public places in our homes, restrict private access to personal technology, and take other proactive steps.

If we viewed sexual sin as a deadly snake, we would do whatever is necessary to keep it out of our homes and lives.

Do you? Will you?

Step Two: Anonymity

Seek accountable community, choosing to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2; cf. Hebrews 10:24–25). Since “a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12), build relationships of trust in which you can be honest with each other, pray for each other, and hold each other to biblical standards.

With whom are you being transparent today?

Step Three: Appetite

“Do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:27 NIV) by measuring your thoughts in this way: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).

How “worthy of praise” are your thoughts today?

Step Four: Atheism

All temptation is an enticement to “be like God” (Genesis 3:5), taking our King’s rightful place on the throne of our lives. The more time we spend practicing the presence of God in worship, Bible study, and prayer, the more we experience the living Lord Jesus and the sanctifying power of his Spirit. Note the order: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, my emphasis).

The author, Garrett Kell writes:

“You will never regret resisting sin. You will always regret giving in. I have never looked back on obedience with regret, nor on compromise with gratitude.”

How will you look back on today? Tomorrow?

Quote for the Day:

“I would sooner be holy than happy if the two things could be divorced. To be free from the power of sin, to be made to love holiness, is true happiness.” —Charles Spurgeon

Jim Denison, PhD, is a cultural theologian and the founder and CEO of Denison Ministries. Denison Ministries includes DenisonForum.org, First15.org, ChristianParenting.org, and FoundationsWithJanet.org. Jim speaks biblically into significant cultural issues at Denison Forum. He is the chief author of The Daily Article and has written more than 30 books, including The Coming Tsunami, the Biblical Insight to Tough Questions series, and The Fifth Great Awakening.