On T.I. (or T.I.P.)

After watching recent interviews of the rapper T.I. by Larry King and Jamie Foxx, I have concluded that I really like him (T.I.). He is what many of us from urban communities grow up seeing everyday with some differences. He is rugged and refined, aggressive and articulate, common and uncommon simultaneously. His lifestyle resembles many of those from the ‘hood, but his grasp of people and the world goes beyond expected limitations.

Larry King seemed to recognize this as well. He asked T.I. many questions that seemed to say, where does this behavior come from? If you know better, why are you doing worse? T.I.’s reply was hard to hear, but real - I am a product of my environment. (Check out the clip below to hear more - starts at minute 7:05)




What T.I. says is true even if it hurts to hear it. He grew up around violence, turmoil, and drugs. So he participates in those things. I liken this to someone who grows up near the beach. If you ask them if they know how to swim, they will answer yes, of course. Why? Because it was in their environment. They grew up around water, so swimming is natural. In the same way, T.I.’s environment (and ours) impacted the way he developed and matured.

So what can Christians gain from T.I.’s response? I believe there are two lessons. One, our environments make us who we are. We have to take this seriously. We have to look around and ask ourselves, is this atmosphere creating the person I want to become? Do I have the right people around me? The right goals in place? The right influences? If not, we need to consciously move from our surroundings OR practice lesson two and…

Change our environment. What is compelling about T.I. is that he is now changing the environment he came from. He is going back to juvenile centers and telling children how to prevent going down the same path. He is also shifting the paradigm on what people think about black men from urban areas. This is a good example for us. As we are in our surroundings, we have the opportunity (and responsibility) to contribute positively. When we do this, others are changed by our example and our presence (Matthew 5:15, Philippians 2:15 below).

We have a choice in what we surround ourselves with. Be aware, life has a ripple effect. One thing affects another. When ripples come, we can either be the water or we can be the stone. The water moves with it’s surroundings. The stone creates ripples that can’t be denied. There are times when we need to be both. Choose wisely and you and your environment will be blessed.



Lord, please remind us that we are all products of our environment. Let us choose them wisely. Knowing this, let us also be rippled and be ripplers. Let’s be conscious of the change that happens and the change we can create. I thank You for the surroundings I have been in and the things each has taught me. I pray I continue to glean from them. Thank You for it all.




Belly flopping,
Jeremy






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Matthew 5:14-16 (NASB)
14"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.


Philippians 2:15 (NASB) - so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,