A few years ago, the artist and mogul Kanye West published a gospel album, held his Sunday Service worship session online, and proclaimed that Jesus changed his life. The world groaned while countless Christian rushed to pat the man on the back. He’s one of us they said as if the salvation needs celebrity validation.

In truth, I’ve always been a Kanye fan. He’s a true artist in the crazy, unstable kind of way. And artists of his variety make very public blunders right along side their very public genius. So when Kanye came out as Christian, I was happy but cautious. And when the Christians started to promote him and his gospel album I stepped back because I knew Kanye. He’s a bi-polar genius without a filter. So when a friend texted to ask what I thought, I didn’t hold back. We’ll see if the same people support him the next time he screws up.

Fast-forward to October 2022, the support is all but gone after another public mess. Apparently Kanye is making antisemitic statements and claims. Black people are the real Jews? I don’t want to give it much space in my blog, but yeah, it’s that bad. He made these statements after wearing a White Lives Matter sweater in Paris, which also angered people.

The thing about Kanye is he is bi-polar. It’s a condition that he lives with and explains, at least in part, his erratic behavior. Most bi-polar people don’t live a public life the way he does and in my experience bi-polar folks tend to hide. So, am I making an excuse for Kanye? Yes. Yes, I am. I can have empathy for his mental state while holding him accountable. Bi-polar disorder isn’t a get out of jail free card, the man still needs to come to a place where he understands how he hurts people, but… we need to treat mental disorders with same compassion we have for the blind or the lame. Bi-polar people don’t switch the disorder on and off at their whim, and unless healed by the Lord, the must learn to manage it. (And wouldn’t it be like the devil to use a person at the most vulnerable? Duh?)

Bi-polar people like Kanye need more love, not less. They need more community not to be left alone, even when the try to hide or push us away.