Just some random ponderings today. About royalty. Ponder, ponder.
A few things led down this trail. First of all, I am reading the Game of Thrones books. The basic theme of this fiction series is royalty- what does it mean to be royal, who has the best claim to the throne, and all the battles, victories, sorrows and manipulation that go along with that. Of course there’s way more to the series than that, but that’s what led me to ponder royalty.
Second, there is a song on the radio that catches my heart every time I hear it. When I actually listen to the words, there’s nothing in it that I should be drawn to as a believer, but it gets me thinking about royalty every time I hear it.
Both these things, and also the craziness that always is happening around the celebrity of the moment. That makes me think about royalty, too.
All these things come together to create in me a holy frustration. Did you know that celebrities in North America are referred to as ‘Hollywood Royalty’? The thing is, we have no royalty in Canada or the USA, because we are fairly young countries. Yes, Canada still has ties to the monarchy in the UK, but we also celebrate actors, musicians, and politicians as if they are royalty. The thing that frustrates a lot of people about this form of ‘royalty’, is that they didn’t do anything to earn it, generally. You become Hollywood Royalty by being popular. I mean, you don’t even have to BE an actor, musician, or politician to become Hollywood Royalty. Think of Paris Hilton, and the Kardashians. Oh, and let’s not forget athletes- with their HUMUNGOUS paychecks for a couple year career. So, is it being rich that makes you Hollywood Royalty? Attractive? A famous name? A famous spouse? A billion hits on Youtube? And why does this ‘royalty’ frustrate me so much?
But hey, let’s be fair- what about REAL royalty? What did Queen Elizabeth II do to become royal? Not a thing. She was born into a royal family. If you go back far enough, all the original ‘royals’ are just people who rose up and crowned themselves, or were crowned by popular vote. Seriously. Read the history of the monarchy in England. They can claim that GOD ordained them and anointed them to be royal, but we all know how true that is. Some of the kings and queens over the past thousand years were not representing God in the way they ruled, that’s for sure.
Why do I even care about the issue of royalty? Because the Bible says that WE are royalty. We are kings and queens in God’s Kingdom. (Insert appropriate scripture here. Hee hee.) As I was pondering this today, I was thinking that I really have no right to get irritated with Hollywood Royalty because, guess what? As believers, we did NOTHING to earn our royal title either. It’s not about what we did to become royal. That would be religion. It’s all about what HE did to make us royal!! That’s Grace!!
It’s kind of funny, in a sad sort of way, how people lose their minds over Hollywood Royalty- especially when Hollywood Royalty blunders, and people realize that celebrities don’t deserve the pedestals we put them on. It suddenly becomes painfully obvious that they are just as human as the rest of us. Their sins are just WAAAAAAAAY more public. I almost feel sorry for the celebs, but then again, this is the life they chose for themselves. In fact a lot of the celebs STRIVE for it. And then the stress and pressure cause them to fall apart, usually in front of the whole world. Some people seem to thrive on these tragedies. Just look at how much Miley Cyrus has been talked about on Facebook and Pinterest since the VMA’s. OMG. She’s human??? She makes bad DECISIONS??? WHAT?!!? (I make fun, but I seriously feel sorry for her. She needs prayer. And to keep her tongue in her mouth, unless she’s eating ice cream or licking a lollipop. Appropriately.)
Back to the point. ‘Real’ royalty didn’t do anything to earn their royal position, either. It’s all about blood. Queen Elizabeth II is royal because her father was royal. And his father was royal. (And so on.) But like I said earlier, that line does lead back to someone ‘common’ eventually.
Our Royal position in God’s Kingdom is about Blood. We are a part of God’s royal bloodline now- not by our own works or striving, but because Jesus made the way for us. He brought us into His victory, and seated us on His throne. We are co-heirs to His Kingdom with Him. This is something we did not build with our own hands, it’s not a kingdom that will fail.
Maybe that’s why the song is so refreshing. Because it’s an acknowledgement that we will never be royal through our own striving and our own gifts/talents. We can just be who we are- be the person God created you to be. The sweet thing about that is how it removes the popular vote in our lives. How freeing is that??
I’m starting to ramble.... But one more thought... I love Youtube for one reason. It gave people a platform to show that they are just as talented, funny, beautiful, etc. as the Hollywood Royalty. I love getting lost in the weird side of Youtube sometimes, because it makes me realize that I am not alone. There are people out there just as crazy as me. (Scary, I know!!) There are people with the same quirky sense of humor, same love of bizarre beauty. And we don’t have to strive to be popular in front of the nation. We can just be who we are. I feel like that’s what this tug in my heart has been about. Being royal in God’s Kingdom is about identity. You don’t have to remind QEII that she is royal. It’s who she is. It’s her identity. And she just knows it. In her core.
And now, two disclaimers: For that one thing I love about Youtube, there is soooooo much that I don’t love about Youtube. It becomes a different sort of popularity contest at times, and we can attach our self worth/identity too much to social media, and how many ‘likes’ we get. Not to mention the platform it gives people to comment negatively on videos, etc. But, that is a whole other rant for another day. Also, I do appreciate a lot of celebrities, and think they are very, very talented. The way we put them on a pedestal is most of the problem, not who they are. One of the reasons they make the bad decisions they do, is because it seems to be what the public wants and what will gain them more notoriety. I’ll leave it at that. BLESS YOU, YOUR GRACE!!!
