MA$E- Biblical Analysis / Hip-Hop Lyrics

After almost 10 years, is hip-hop about to have its first encounter with the real Ma$e? As in Murda Ma$e?

Now this isn’t a Ma$e lyric from a bygone era yall, but a hot off the presses verse from 300 Shots a Game “dis joint” he spits on a collabo with what people are saying to be his new crew, G-Unit. Welcome Back? Minister Mason Betha? Go figure. Some things don’t warrant a deep theological analysis, sometimes you just gotta call wrong, wrong. I just saw an excerpt from an article where Ma$e talked about cats who degrade women, now he’s talking about having h#*s at the church hummin’ some brotha’s name?! What’s UP Ma$e!! You hurtin’ me man.

Ummm, the words of Jesus. Always worth pondering, wrestling with. Is this what we’re observing firsthand? Someone becoming worse off than they were before? In this case Ma$e spitting lyrics like a super thug, lyrics far removed from the Ma$e we once knew and the most recent Ma$e we were reintroduced to.

Now for those reading this and wondering. “There go ‘dem Christians again, always judging people. [Quick sidebar, this same accusation was most recently levied at Christians appalled at professed believer Jessica Simpson’s racy video for These boots are Made for Walking (her pastor father too dismissed the responses as “judgmental”)]. As a result of “cultural Christianity” being the norm, and the prevalence of biblical ignorance, disciples of Christ must always be prepared to, and never of tire of distinguishing between those who would accuse us of being judgmental in the context of saying dogmatically whether someone’s salvation is authentic versus, inspecting their fruit and holding them accountable according to I Cor. 11:31; lest confusion about a “shared Christ” among Christians or observing unbelievers run rampant. The latter is the reason for this particular dissection.

Many people know that long before Diddy had Ma$e rockin’ shiny suits and churning out platinum hip-pop, his underground moniker in Harlem World and beyond was Murda Ma$e. Of course his content justified such a name.

Minister Mason Betha has many eyebrows raised, thousands of young people confused, and possibly a flock of “believers” mislead. Does the dollar sign in his MC name sum it all up? Hmmm.

You know, since first hearing about Ma$e’s return to the rap game about a year ago, I chose to refrain from sharing my thoughts. I realize now that my reluctance to offer an opinion was rooted in anger. Anger of a two-fold sort. Not anger at a grown man from exercising his free will to make the choices he has (and will make), but angry first at failing to hear him rescind his criticism of the type of hip-hop our movement does and second, anger at the state of affairs in Christendom that don’t seem to have properly rooted this brother who appeared to be truly seeking God, (a multi-platinum MC who made the difficult decision to walk away from all the riches hip-hop incessantly glorifies) but instead gave him a platform to minister from with immediate speaking engagements.

See I had a chance to meet Mason Betha back in 1999 shortly after his decision to leave rap to “follow God”. I was a couple months into the filming of Next Level: Hip-Hop’s Final Frontier and I showed up at a church here in Detroit where Ma$e was speaking, hoping to get an interview for the documentary and hear his thoughts on hip-hop used differently from the way he used it. He was cordial but I was disappointed to learn that he was unable to be interviewed due to Bad Boy related contractual prohibitions. Later on that evening I went with some friends to hear Ma$e speak. I cringed like most of you probably did upon hearing how quickly a microphone was thrust into Ma$e’s face and how easily he was given a platform to share as a new Christian. (Our fascination with celebrity converts doesn’t seem to be rooted in our rejoicing over their being saved from eternal separation from God, but rather like kids picking teams on a neighborhood basketball court. Like oooh, look who we got… but that’s another article) However, out of curiosity I went; to hear firsthand Bad Boy’s former hit machine articulate his salvation experience.

He shared about how in a vision God showed him that he had the ear of millions of youth and that he was “leading them to hell.” Powerful vision. Ma$e couldn’t resist the temptation of sprinkling his testimony with a few sermonettes; all of which were milky and indicative of his newness to the faith. In response to people asking him about his thoughts on “Christian hip-hop” he said, the two could not go together, that they were oppositional to each other and “what are you going to have next gospel prostitutes?”

I remember thinking whoa?! He’s making a statement like this in front of hundreds of people. Many of whom have already been exposed to, and are supporters of Christian hip-hop. How you gonna discredit a ministry that predates your salvation experience by almost two decades?! Even if you decide this isn’t the type of hip-hop you’re going to do, don’t front on those who do. I remember thinking, ’ll wait until he’s more grounded in the faith and exposed to hip-hop used for eternal purposes to see if he recants this statement (real men, especially spiritual ones, can man up and admit when they’re wrong, right?) because he is clearly loud and wrong, and has no theological basis to make such a statement. Many people think they have grounds to, only to offer shallow exegesis and analysis to prove their point. I left the event convinced that this brother had met Jesus but concerned about where he’d get his spiritual food from. Would a solid foundation be laid, based on sound doctrine and the essentials of the Christian faith? Ma$e’s recent actions arguably answer that question for us. (By the way, he’s never recanted his statements about Christian hip-hop, pride goeth before a fall? Hmmm)

“All Jesus is saying is this: I want you to have a lot, how else could you be rich in good deeds?”

What does the lack of riches Ma$e is speaking of imply about Jesus’ earthly ministry? Was Jesus was ineffective?! I’ve read numerous quotes like this from Ma$e that raise many concerns about his ability to rightly divide the Word of Truth, and not to my liking or acceptance, but in accordance with historical Christianity. The extreme Ma$e is reacting against and responding to in this portion of the article cited is a poverty mentality that I admit many Christians are guilty of. That’s an unbalanced foundation to build on as well, but the proper and historic understanding from the scripture he alludes to where Jesus talks about abundance, is more than material goods. A person can be rich in good deeds by doing lots of them. See how wrong thinking about scripture can be sprinkled with elements of truth? For example there is a proverb that talks about the wisdom of a poor man going unheeded, a point Ma$e has also made, but it does not say that one’s spiritual effectiveness is contingent upon material possessions. That’s a heart issue. Aw, I wish I could elab like I want to.

My flesh wanted to say “duh” to scriptures taken out of context like this but the Spirit instead whispered, what appears to be an obvious meaning in scripture isn’t always. That’s true, but at some point you can’t help but to wonder if the scriptures are intentionally manipulated by theologians into “proof texts” to accommodate a ministry approach that doesn’t line up with the complete council of God, the entirety of His word and all the principles therein but rather with a popular teaching which benefits them (II Timothy 4:2). When that’s the motive of a skilled orator, and new Christians sit under their pastoring/tutelage, they are systematically taught bad doctrine that sounds good, and has enough scriptural gloss and half truths to deceive the non-discerning believer and casual observer. This is why scripture admonishes us to study (not read) line upon line, precept upon precept. What does all of this have to do with Ma$e? Saints I believe our brotha Ma$e falls into this category and this is a point of prayer for him. (see the others below) It becomes understandable how your house can slide if it’s not built upon a solid foundation.

Ma$e, by his own description came back, to “clean up hip hop.” I remember thinking, this will be interesting if nothing else. Then he appears on Fat Joe’s Lean Back remix and people began talking, “whats’ up with Ma$e?” I still refrained from giving much thought to it, but when I heard about Fat Joe’s lyric from Ja Rule’s New York song, I was like, uh oh…

Fat Joe in essence says, “later for you God” because of Ma$e. Now we know those who aren’t sincere in their seeking of Christ will use whatever “out” they want to not take steps in pursuit of Him, but we as Christians shouldn’t give them more ammunition to stay stuck. Of course, the most outspoken person against Ma$e when he returned last year was Diplomat Capt. Jim Jones. Jim and Cam'ron had a serious on-air radio confrontation with Ma$e and accused him of being a fraud. So what does Jim think about Ma$e possibly going with 50 Cent and company a year later?

In a day and time when Christianity is struggling to gain, regain, or maintain social relevance amidst those in search of truth, a new, trendier, conveniently adaptable “gospel”, those with itching ears only attuned to prosperity, or those just looking for answers, it is disheartening to say the least to watch a very public professing Christian such as Ma$e, make the decisions he’s made. The bible talks about being a stumbling block for weaker brethren (meaning Christians) but for those truly desiring more people come to salvation in Christ and to a knowledge of the truth; this principle logically extends to unsaved “seekers.” If Ma$e has truly trusted Christ as the only means of satisfying a holy God for the propitiation for his sins, foul mouthed rapping doesn’t undo that. It does grieve God, breaks fellowship, confuses observers, reeks of spiritual infancy and or stagnation.

“But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.”
- I Corinthians 8:9

No matter how vehemently he might deny it or justify himself, is this what’s happening with Ma$e? Is he causing others (the very young congregation he pastored) to “stumble” in their pursuit of God or their understanding of what God expects from Christians? Just like the Jews whose hypocrisy Paul addresses in Romans 2, could Ma$e be guilty of causing the name of God to be blasphemed among the gentiles (Rom. 2:24)?

“Prepare the way, take the stumbling block out of the way of my people.” - Isaiah 57:14

This verse is in Isaiah is written for the backslider; (v. 17) for the iniquity of his covetousness. Is Ma$e guilty of coveting his former riches as an MC? I’ve thought about this. Having a young congregation like Ma$e admittedly has/had (his “elders” are in their 30’s) can be a financial challenge. Often this demographic is largely underemployed or unemployed, and still learning the benefits and purposes of giving consistently.

Was that all they had? Was it given in sincerity? Would God provide for your needs if you still minister for Him regardless of the amount in the collection plate? I wonder if when Ma$e faced financial hardship if pride once again reared its ugly head and twisted his ministry direction? It’s interesting to note that Ma$e acknowledges how checks and cars came from people in high places including athletes at a time when he was in a vulnerable situation financially. Such generosity enabled him to move his church from a school auditorium to their own building. God is able, most definitely! He does reward sacrifice. He does prompt others to give to us in our time of need. I’ve personally experienced that this year. But the enemy, Satan, is clever and we should not be ignorant of his devices. He can subtly, mix some biblical truth with untruth and misapplication and lead lots of people astray. He too is in a position to offer worldly riches and prosperity.

Remember how he tempted Christ with worldly riches after Christ had fasted? They were his to give and tempt with. (Consider the people in Matthew 7:21-23; who thought they were doing God’s work). I’m trying to get us to see how the enemy often works and may be working in Ma$e’s life.

“Okay before when I was in music, I had a Tahoe, a 600, you know a bunch of cars like that, But now I could say, Okay I got Ferraris, I got Lamborghinis, I got Bentleys, I got planes...” That’s for my sacrifice, now I’m being rewarded for the stand I took.”
– Ma$e (Sister 2 Sister Oct. 2004)

The stand he took? He must’ve been talking about initially, when he first walked away from hip-hop. Now that he’s back and spittin’ Murda Ma$e style lyrics, it’s time to walk away again. Those are a lot of expensive items for a young congregation to afford. I guess the offering is well beyond $80 now or was Ma$e was bailed out and given those things by advocates of a prosperity gospel offering him these riches in order to “protect” a burgeoning like minded theologian, one who is connected to the hip-hop generation and has a tremendous “upside”. Don’t get me wrong, Christians are supposed to help each other but if you look at the church being marketed like Jesus-Mart with only good outcomes attached, it’s something to consider. I don’t know saints, I guess in the midst of speculation I just want to know where’s the accountability? What Pastor or Elder is giving this brotha counsel? Are they completely disconnected from Ma$e’s hip-hop activities? Are his only “friends”, “yes men” and no “Nathan’s” in the group? (the brother who functioned as the prophet in David’s life and called him out on his sin with Bathsheba and arrangement for her husband Uriah’s death) I forgot, His pastor was in Ludacris’ Welcome to Atlanta video.

All I’m saying is this saints, right now Ma$e is a study in duplicity. And we all have contradictions in our lives at times. I know I do, and I want the Body to be bold enough to call me out on it, lest I deceive myself. Read this excerpt from Mason Betha Ministries (www.sanechurch.org – where Ma$e is Dr. Betha)

Good stuff huh, but how do you reconcile a statement like that with the lyrics like this:

How do you explain that to your flock? Matthew 18:6 outlines a grave warning to those that would cause “little ones” to stumble.

With a fixated audience that includes those unable to separate doctrine from practice, religion from relationship, and motive from opportunity, Ma$e helps to once again paint Christians as lacking conviction, undisciplined, unable to stand apart, and easily conformed. Like he mentioned in the Sister 2 Sister article Ma$e, (unaware that his respect from his peers is either non-existent or tokenistic), wants to prove that Christians can be in the hip hop game, be hot and icy all at the same time. Though this is true, for the sake of the “weaker brethren” at least make your allegiances clear if you choose to rock ice and spit rhymes. God or mammon? We know that scripture says “how can two walk together unless they agree” and “what fellowship does light have with darkness” these passages apply to more than interpersonal relationships and into business relationships as well. G-Unit and Mason Betha Ministries? Strange bedfellows doesn’t adequately describe that relationship. Some of you may suggest that there may be a plan, a purpose, that Ma$e has that will glorify God, that this critique, or no; this attempt at accountability is premature. Well, God is always a God of order and not confusion and His word says we should flee the very appearance of evil or impropriety. There is sometimes some mystery involved for those observing what God is up to, but this isn’t the case hear. The words this brother is spitting are his own and can’t be misconstrued.

Like MC Lyte once said, I cram to understand. Is this a case of the rich young ruler, remixed hip hop style and the trappings of fame and materialism re-engulfing one who gave them up? Is this a case of a sincere seeker, becoming saved but improperly discipled and his impact minimized because he leads people to Christ but to bad doctrine too, thus multiplying biblical ignorance and works of iniquity? I don’t know yall. But I’m glad God does. I only want to raise questions, challenge us to think, to not be ignorant of Satan’s devices, not be afraid of rigorous dialogue, to apply scriptures to modern day situations, and protect the name of Christ. God sees the beginning from the end and He knows Ma$e’s heart even when Ma$e doesn’t. I’m only trying, in my own little way, (aware of the potential for negative feedback) to utilize one of the platforms God has given me/us, to protect the weaker brethren and assist those who work with them for whom Ma$e is a point of confusion right now.