I opened up YouTube and went over to their music tab to see what new videos have been posted lately. At the very tippy top was Lorde (who’s basically been missing in action for a few years) with her new single “Solar Power,” a subdued yet if possible, even a bit peppy, new track perfect for beach hangs. Check it out…
Watching the video for the first time was incidentally also the first time I’d listened to the song, too. So it was all brand new to me. As I’m listening, I think it will be a great addition to my Beach Beats Spotify playlist. But… then I heard something like the name of Jesus in the lyrics. Naturally, I looked the lyrics up and sure enough she says, “I’m kinda like a prettier Jesus.”
Now, one can take this in one of two ways. On the one hand, you could say she’s just playing off of what Isaiah said in chapter 53 of his book in the Bible.
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him…”
One of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible, it’s talking about the future Messiah and how he will serve people. It’s a prophecy of Jesus, let’s just get that out there. So Lorde is using playful lyrics to highlight a truth from the Bible… or, is she being offensive?
Offensive would mean that Lorde is claiming to be better than Jesus. To dive in deeper, she might be saying that she offers the same things He does, but she looks better doing it. Now, I don’t think anyone is brazen enough to make such a claim, even someone who does not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, God’s Son, Savior, etc.
On the bright side for Christians who might hear this song and be offended, it is something that Lorde admits Jesus had (or has) an existence. Just to mention His name is somewhat of an acknowledgement that He was a real person who lived on earth, right?
My guess is that Lorde is somewhere between those two thoughts. Not a professing Christian but also not a persecutor of the Christian faith. As for the song itself, it’s pretty catchy and I like it, but I haven’t decided yet whether I will add it to my Spotify playlist. I just want to make sure I’m not willingly listening to something that is in clear and present danger of antagonizing my Lord. That’s Lord without the ‘e’, mind you 🙂 With that said, I’m a big fan of the literal solar power (the sun) after the winter that never seemed to end here in Nashville. Bring on the hot sun and the beach, I agree with Lorde there.
What do you think of the song and the lyrics? Did the phrase in question stand out to you as being offensive to Christians, or is it a nod to Jesus in some way?
Thanks for stopping by…
-Out of the Wilderness
Out of the Wilderness 