A Prince Charming or A King Leading?

In the 2014 Walt Disney movie “Into the Woods,” there was an interesting scene and exchange of dialogue that captured my attention. This is after Cinderella learned of her Prince’s infidelity. Here’s the dialogue:

Cinderella's Prince: My love, why so cold?

Cinderella: Maybe it's because I am not your only love. Am I?

Cinderella's Prince: I love you. I do. But yes, it's true.

Cinderella: Why, if you love me, would you have strayed?

Cinderella's Prince: I thought if you were mine, that I could not wish for more. And part of me is content and as happy as I have ever been. But there remains a part that continually needs more.

Cinderella: I have, on occasion, wanted more. But that doesn't mean I went in search of it. If this is how you behave as a Prince, what kind of King will you be?

Cinderella's Prince: I was raised to be charming, not sincere. I didn't ask to be born a king, and I'm not perfect. I am only human.

We often tease a brother in our group about his pogi (handsome) problems. But I think that if men would be honest enough to confess, I think that most men, if not every men, will say that they have pogi problems as well. If men are not raised to be charming, they will assume that characteristic and project that they are charming. And each moment a girl looks at them or treat them nicely, they’d say to themselves, “Ang pogi ko talaga! (I’m really handsome/charming!)”

Like Cinderella, in this movie, a woman would want to have a man who can lead. Look at the question of Cinderella, “What kind of King will you be?” We can project to be charming all we want but it there is a limit to physical attraction. There’s an expectation beyond being charming. A sister told me and two other brothers that a man who can lead is what they’re really after. The Cinderellas we seek, after all, may be looking for a king who can lead, who can protect, who is wise and who is sincere. But men are not just to be sincere. They are to be pure.
Cinderella's Prince said, “I thought if you were mine, that I could not wish for more. And part of me is content and as happy as I have ever been. But there remains a part that continually needs more.”

Men, we are to be content and not wish for more. A man may be tied with responsibilities to his parents and/or siblings that’s why he can’t pursue a woman in courtship. But it could also be that he hasn’t given up on the idea that he might still find the “right” woman. And I mean that he hasn’t found yet the prettiest, the loveliest and the sexiest. A man may be fine with the woman he is considering to pursue but he hasn’t crossed the line of making a clear cut decision that he will really court her. Why? Because he might make the “wrong” decision. A wrong decision of not pursuing the prettiest, the loveliest, the sexiest, the easiest to get along with, the wittiest and the list goes on with all of the superlatives into it.

If having a trophy wife is much important to you than giving importance to the will of God in your life, then I think it’s high time you reorient your life to what God wants. If you are a man, then pursue the woman you like as long as it is in the Lord. Saturate your mind with Scriptures and orient your standards to that of the Scriptures.

I don’t have much to say with women. But here’s a confession. Men often thinks that what you really want is prince who will sweep you off your feet. That you want the charming prince. That you want the prince with a castle. That you want the prince with a fancy carriage. That you want the prince that will bring you to the ball and fancy dinner treats. That you want a prince that can bring to a far, faraway land. And so we shy away because we are not too handsome. We are not too charming. We are so dull and boring. We can just rent an apartment. We can just ride the jeepney. We can only afford the food in the carinderia (eatery) across our church. We can just bring you to Luneta Park or sort.

To be continued…