Marvin Sapp - The Best In Me Lyrics
Lyrics
He saw the best in me,
When everyone else around
Could only see the worst in me
(Can I tell ya'll one more time, one more time?)
I said He saw the best in me,
When everyone else around
Could only see the worst in me,
(I wish I had a witness tonight, all I need is one)
Hey,
[Choir:]
He saw the best in me,
(When everyone else around me)
When everyone else around ooh
(Could only see)
Could only see the worst in me,
(Does anybody have that testimony?
When folk walks you off,
Said you would never make it,
what did He see?)
He saw the best in me,
(When everyone else around you yeaaaa)
When everyone else around,
(OOOOOH, Could Only)
Could only see the worst in me,
(Can I tell ya'll one more thing?
I just need to tell you one more thing)
(Listen to this)
See He 's mine, and I am his,
It doesn't matter what I did,
He only sees me, for who I am,
(Does anybody know that today?)
See He 's mine, and I am his,
It doesn't matter what I did,
See He only sees me for who I AM!
(Help me sing it)
[Choir:]
(Said that He is mine)
See He 's mine,
(I'm his)
And I am his,
(Said it doesn't matter, what I did)
It doesn't matter what I did,
(He only sees me for who I) (Yea Yea)
He only sees me, for who I am,
He's mine,
(I am his)
And I'm his
(It doesn't matter what I did)
It doesn't matter what I did,
(Cause He only sees me for who I am, yea yea)
He only sees me for who I am,
(I'm so glad)
(That He is mine)
He's mine,
(Yeaaa)
And I'm his
(It doesn't matter what I did)
It doesn't matter what I did,
(He only Sees me...)
He only sees me for who I am
He saw the best in me,
When everyone else around
Could only see the worst in me,
(I wish I had a witness tonight,
Can I ask ya'll one question?
The question is simply this...
What did He see?)
[Choir:]
He saw the Best
(I can't get no He lp up in He re,
because there are some folk in He re,
people have walked you off,
said you would never amount to anything,
said that you would never end up being anywhere,
but I tell them one more time)
[Choir:]
He saw the Best
(When mama said you would never be nothing,
When aunties, and uncles, said you would never amount to anything,
When daddy didn't come home anymore,
He didn't look at you and say that you wasn't going to make it,
God looked at you...
And What did He see?, What did He see?)
[Choir:]
He saw the Best
The Best [x7]
(I said what did He see [x6])
He saw the best in me
(Oh Lord, Oh, Lord)
(Can I sing the verse one more time,
listen to this ya'll,
I love this, I love this)
See He 's mine, and I am his,
It doesn't matter what I did,
But, He only sees me for who I am,
He's mine
And I'm his,
It doesn't matter what I did
He only sees me, for who I am
Sing it one time
(He is mine oooh)
He's mine,
And I am his,
It doesn't matter what I did,
(He only sees me for who I am)
He only sees me, for who I am,
(And the reason He sees me for who I am,
because He created me in his image and his likeness)
(He's mine...)
He's mine,
(And I am his)
And I'm his
(It doesn't matter what I did)
It doesn't matter what I did,
(He only sees me)
He only sees me for who I am,
He saw the best
He saw the best
Video
Marvin Sapp - The Best In Me (Official Music Video)
Meaning & Inspiration
Marvin Sapp’s "Best in Me" doesn’t shy away from the binary: there is the "worst in me" that everyone else tallies, and the "best in me" that God alone identifies.
I find myself fixated on this specific, blunt line: “It doesn’t matter what I did.”
On the surface, this is the classic gospel sentiment of grace—the erasing of the ledger. But if we stare at it long enough, the sentence becomes remarkably volatile. "It doesn't matter" is a phrase usually reserved for casual dismissals. It’s what you say when a waiter drops a fork or someone accidentally bumps your shoulder. To apply it to the totality of a human life, with all its moral failures and secret wreckage, is either a stroke of divine genius or a terrifying act of self-delusion.
There is a jagged tension here. If our actions truly don't matter, does our agency matter? Does the reality of our harm to others, or the weight of our own mistakes, simply vanish into the ether of the divine gaze?
The poet/songwriter is making a radical claim that shifts the center of gravity from our performance to God’s perception. It isn’t that the "worst" things didn't occur—the lyrics don't deny the history; they deny its power to define. It’s the difference between a record of debts and an identity defined by origin. As the ad-lib late in the song notes, the reason for this sight is that He "created me in his image."
This is the hinge upon which the whole track swings. It asserts that God looks at the creature and ignores the corruption because He is looking at the blueprint, not the broken hardware. It’s a bit jarring. It’s almost irresponsible. But that’s the nature of grace, isn't it? It feels reckless to the human ear, which is trained to keep score. We operate on the currency of "you reap what you sow," yet this lyric suggests a market where the ledger has been burned.
In 1 Samuel 16:7, the text reminds us that "the Lord looks at the heart." Sapp takes this biblical comfort and turns it into a shield. He isn’t saying his actions have no consequences; he is saying they have no finality. The "best" in him is the capacity for restoration that survives the "worst" of his history.
When you listen to this, you’re forced to confront your own tally. What have you done that you’re convinced acts as a permanent ceiling on your worth? The song offers a frustratingly simple answer: your past is not your identity. God sees the potentiality of the image He pressed into you, even when you’ve spent years covering that image in grit.
It’s a bold, possibly unfinished thought. How do we live as people whose "worst" actions don't matter to God, while still existing in a world where those actions often have devastating consequences? Sapp doesn’t solve that riddle. He just insists that, in the secret place where God resides, the "best" is the only thing currently in focus. It leaves the listener with a choice: do you keep looking at the "worst," or do you accept the audacity of being seen differently?