ARALI MELENDEZ | staff writer

The artist's actions remind Christians that humility is a virtue.

Despite Kanye West’s ability to make people angry, he was able to take the number one spot for most sold albums in the country, beating out opponent 50 Cent.

As one of the most talked about celebrities, his opinions and the way he carries himself make people think twice on the person Kanye West is, rather than focusing on the lyrics of his music.

When is it okay to show pride for your accomplishments and how far is too far? West considers himself a Christian, but he expressed on a recent nightline interview with ABC that he wants people to know his accomplishments and by hiding them, he brings shame to everything he has done.

As believers, we are taught to be humble even though it is in our nature to be proud. Even though West proves to have cultivated a grateful heart, his head has swollen due to his success in the music industry.

Recently, his most talked about “performance” was his tantrum at the MTV Video Music Awards. The reason that he gave for it on the Ellen Degeneres Show on Sept. 14 was, “You (MTV) didn’t give me the opportunity to rock.”

During his outburst, he mentioned how hard he tried and that he has the number one album in the country.

West portrays himself as a boastful and proud individual who has not come to realize that humility is part of being a Christian. His music spreads the words of Jesus, but West’s spoken words show a negative output in how he portrays his success.

West also said in the ABC Nightline interview that he is just trying to please himself in who he is as a person. When someone critiques his work, he lashes back with negative comments toward the people critiquing and claims he doesn’t care what others think. It says in Proverbs 12:1, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.”

West speaks out without thought and believes overall that he is the best. A part of being humble is being able to use harsh comments we hear and read, and apply it to what God is trying to show us through those critiques. We have to choose to serve others. West might serve others through his music but he should not preach about himself in the process.

Humility is a virtue. Of course we all make the mistake of making ourselves seem better than others, often in a condescending way. We are taught to be humble and yet we talk about how horrible Biola is and how much better we are.

America revolves around individualism, which can be good and bad. Others can take our communication as being boastful and rude, when in actuality someone is just trying to state what they have done because they are proud of the things God has given them the opportunity to do.

Individualism in APU will obviously be different. Some might consider themselves more humble than others.

As a school, APU has given us the chance to be humble as a community. Opportunities such as missions trips and service learning have influenced students to help those in need and have given the school virtue in that area. As humans, our nature is to not be humble individuals, often making us look like idiots when we ramble on about ourselves.

If we could use the verses in the Bible that talk about humility, we could apply it to our lives so we could be the light of the world to people who are not Christians.

Non-Christians might look at West and ask why a Christian individual would portray himself as boastful person. This is the opportunity to prove people wrong: to prove that Christians are not hypocrites and that we are humble or know when to be prideful for our accomplishments.

West also shows pride by putting people down to make himself feel more acomplished. His comments toward Britney Spears at the VMAs have made her look like she has no talent. Ephesians 4:31-32 tells us to get rid of bitterness and anger and to be kind and compassionate toward others, as Christ is toward us.

West’s music is about empowering the spreading of the word, but he needs to analyze the way he portrays himself in the media as a boastful tyrant with over barring opinions. Seeing him through the eyes of a non-believer, he has spent too much time talking about himself. And through the eyes of a believer, he has not spent enough time talking about Christ.