This past Saturday, Drake released the highly anticipated music video to his new hit single, God’s Plan. As expected, the video quickly went viral. In fact, it tallied up an astonishing 23,000,000 views in 3 days, outpacing what’s typical of music videos from A-list artists.
What’s interesting, however, is that the video gained so much attention not because of its jaw-dropping aesthetics or eye-popping production quality, but precisely because it lacked those things.
The video opens with a black screen and a single statement: “The budget for this video was $996,631.60.” And then the next slide flips the script: “We gave it all away.”
The producers, shall we say, chose to spend the money differently from what the record label had in mind. Instead of investing the money into their film, they filmed themselves giving the money away to others. Instead of exhausting the funds on lavish venues and extravagant props (which is typical of most music videos), the video features Drake lavishly and extravagantly giving it to non-profits, random pedestrians, and underprivileged youth. Instead of filming the music video on a private yacht in the elite bay of Star Island, they chose to reel the video on the dirt-worn streets of Broward County.
The video became a hit precisely because it counters what most rap music videos encourage. Whereas most rap music videos glorify lavish living, Drake’s video glorifies lavish giving.
Let me just roll through the long highlight reel of examples:
- There’s a scene where he buys everyone in the grocery mart whatever they can get their hands on.
- There’s a scene where he gives a student a substantial scholarship to the University of Miami.
- There’s a scene where he hands over a stack of cash to a single mom and her son, leaving them in tears.
- There’s a scene where he buys a brand new mini-bus for a down town youth center, along with a day of all-you-can-eat ice cream.
- There’s a scene where he signs a hefty check to the Fire Department of Miami.
- There’s a scene where he pushes several large shopping carts full of gift-wrapped presents for an entire grade of underprivileged students.
- There’s a scene where he sends 3 teenage girls to an upscale department store for an all-inclusive shopping spree.
- There’s a scene where he rolls up in a brand new Acura with a bow on the hood, handing the keys to a couple who needed a new set of wheels.
- And lastly, the video closes with Drake announcing that he’s giving a large endowment to an underprivileged school for them to jump-start a much-needed after school program.
Agreed, quite different from what you would expect out of a typical hip-hop music video, or even more, what you would expect out of an average Drake music video.
And people have raved about it, clearly. It stands out, it’s different, and it resonates with us on a very deep level. It’s authentic. Raw. Moving. There’s something beautiful about someone who has so much, giving so much, to people who don’t have much at all—simply just to bless them.
In other terms, the video makes giving—not spending—sexy. More admirable to lavishly live at the expense of others is to lavishly give for the good of others. The video puts this paradox on display, spotlights the counter-intuition of it all, and convinces you that ‘maybe it is better to give than to receive’ after all.
I’m guessing that most people—after viewing the music video—left with the thought of, ‘Wow… I want to be more generous’, not ‘Wow… I can’t wait for someone else to give me something.’ The video is inspiring because generosity stirs something deep within us.
In fact, there are many scientific studies proving that endorphins (the chemical that makes you feel good) are released when you give lavishly and sacrificially to others. Giving feels good. Somehow, in the best interest of our own psychology, lavish giving—not lavish living—actually leads to better living.
But why is that? Why might that be? Why is it ‘good for us’ to give?
If you approach this question strictly from a naturalistic, evolutionary premise, you might be able to argue your way into a reasonable response, but there’s going to be a lot of hoops to jump through in the process. From a naturalistic standpoint—a framework *fundamentally* based on taking (food acquisition and sexual production)—it’s rarely (if ever) beneficial to be sacrificial for the sake of others, especially those not in your tribe. Even if you can argue it, it is nevertheless absolutely more of an exception than the rule.
The Bible, however, is abundantly clear and coherent as to why it’s better to lavishly give instead of lavishly live. The Bible says it’s because God is happiest when he gives, and since we are made in his image, so will we be happiest when we give, too. From a Gospel standpoint—a framework *fundamentally* based on giving—it’s always beneficial to be sacrificial for the sake of others, especially those not in your tribe. You can’t argue otherwise, because this is absolutely the rule, not an exception.
Two of the most famous Bible verses hint on this glorious truth.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son….” (John 3:16)
“Jesus, …, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2)
God loved us and delighted in us, and so, he gave the greatest gift to us, Jesus. And Jesus loved us and delighted in us, and so, he gave to us his very life. We were so lost that God had to give his best to save us; but God loved us so much that he was glad—even eager—to do it! To God, giving is his fastest reflex. It’s simply the natural overflow of who He is. God is happiest when he gives.
Therefore, when we give—because we are made in God’s image—we become more fully who we were created to be, and in the process, we bless others like we were purposed to do. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
Fittingly, the video’s theme, giving, fits the video’s title, God’s plan.
It was and is God’s Plan to give. Before the beginning of time, it was God’s plan to give his life for a people who would reject him, so that he might save them and share love with them (Eph. 1:4). Out of God’s riches, he lavishly gives; into our poverty, so that we may eternally live.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)
I love that text. And it says two crucial things:
1) We were made to be recipients of God’s lavish generosity and,
2) We are therefore to be ambassadors of lavish generosity to others.
The way to a happy life does not come by extravagant living, but by extravagant giving. And this is because God is happiest when he gives, and since we’re made in his likeness, we will be happiest when we give, too.
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(Featured image taken from here)
