"My sweet Lord, hm, my lord...
I really want to see you
Really want to be with you..."
George Harrison, one of the Beatles, wrote a worship song! How great right? Not exactly. This is definitely a worship song, but it wasn't written to the God the Father, Son or Holy Spirit. As the song ends, it becomes a Hindu mantra. The catchy "Hallelujah" voices switch to singing "hare krishna" at the end. Harrison was very intentional about his deception in this.
"My idea in "My Sweet Lord," because it sounded like a "pop song," was to sneak up on them a bit. The point was to have the people not offended by "Hallelujah," and by the time it gets to "Hare Krishna," they’re already hooked, and their foot’s tapping, and they’re already singing along "Hallelujah," to kind of lull them into a sense of false security. And then suddenly it turns into "Hare Krishna," and they will all be singing that before they know what’s happened, and they will think, "Hey, I thought I wasn’t supposed to like Hare Krishna!"
Popular music often has repetitive phrases, mantras, meditations, etc. that lead our minds towards sin. And at least in some cases, the writers are very intentional about this, just look at George Harrison's admission. Someone turns on the radio and ends up participating in krishna worship when they sing along to his song. Other songs encourage sexual immorality, incite anger and hatred, promote pridefulness, cultivate greed. But sometimes even "love songs" end up being idolatrous, putting a man or woman in the place of God in someone's life. My point in all this isn't to say that believers can't listen to anything but "Christian music." My point is that we need to be more discerning. I can't tell you how many times I've heard kids and adults say, "I don't pay attention to words, I just like the music." Pay attention, music is a powerful thing and can either help or hurt your spiritual life depending on what you allow into your ears.
Secondly, this song makes the case (in my mind) for why Christian worship music ought to be distinctly Christian. George Harrison's song could really work for just about any religion until it gets to the end. The songs we sing in worship shouldn't be vague like that. It should be clear Who we're singing to and about.
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