Can you sum up the lyrics to Drake's "God's Plan"?
Here's a snapshot:
I don't wanna die for them to miss me
Yes I see the things that they wishin' on me
Hope I got some brothers that outlive me
They gon' tell the story, s*** was different with me
If you have a hunch on what's going here but don't feel confident in making an assertion as to what exactly these lyrics mean, don't feel too bad. We submitted the same question to Twitter and Instagram and got zero responses. We got post likes, some shares, we can see the posts were viewed thousands of times, but no one responded.
It's hard deciphering God's plan, isn't it?
I'll take a poke at the Drake lyrics and suggest that the song expresses some surprise and mystery about God's plan. The lyrics serve as an admission that the singer acknowledges God may have a plan, though it's a mystery as to what that plan is. That's about it. The song does not suggest a knowledge of God's ongoing plan. Drake doesn't boast that he's going to continue making multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated albums because it's God's plan. He just knows that right now, he's seeking to live into God's plan--whatever that may be. There may be a plan at work in the world, and he's in it.
The lyrics don't go on to suggest that it was God's plan for Drake to be successful while other people aren't as successful. Or that it was God's plan for Drake to enjoy wealth while others exist in poverty. There is only the admission that there's a plan at work.
The music video that accompanies the song provides a little more help in exploring God's plan. In the video, Drake repurposes the money he was given to make a music video for philanthropic gifts instead. He writes a check to a women's shelter. He buys groceries for strangers. He presents a car to a family. He engages in bringing blessing to everyone he comes across that day.
God's plan.
Drake doesn't sing about knowing God's plan because he doesn't know God's plan. But the music video hints that Drake has an understanding of God's purpose.
In the earliest parts of the Bible, God reveals God's self to a man named Abram. God twice tells Abram (who later becomes Abraham) that he is being blessed, that he will have many descendants and they will be a blessing to the earth. This is God's purpose in Abram. God's purpose is to establish blessing on Earth.
Drake's song and video hint at this purpose. God may not express a detailed plan to make us wealthy and comfortable. But God does express a purpose for us to extend blessing into the Earth.
I'm sure we'd all love some clarity about God's plan for our lives. Even more so, I'm sure many of us would prefer for God's plan for our own lives to look a lot like God's plan for Drake's life. I wouldn't mind a platinum album or two. Would you? But it's no less exciting to consider being a participant in God's blessing of the Earth. We may not have thousands of dollars to give away. But we do have a call to participate in God's blessing. That participation is God's plan.
Ryan Dunn is the author. He serves as a Minister of Online Engagement for United Methodist Communications.
