From cinemas to reality TV, the idea of the princess has never been more popular. The world fell in love with Princess Diana and now Australia has its own fairytale princess, Princess Mary. Our interest with the idea of princesses is such a part of our society that when Granada Productions called for women between the ages of 18 and 30 to be groomed for a reality television show Australian Princess, more than 4000 women applied.
Women feel drawn to the idea of being a princess as if it is within this title that they can be their true selves. A young woman who applied to be a contestant on the Australian Princess program said, "I think every woman's desire is to be the beauty of a story. I guess I believe in myself as a princess in a way. Not royalty and blood, but I know the woman inside of me and I desire the opportunity to shine".
Recently there has been movement towards embracing this idea of princess within the teaching of the Christian Church. Christian bookshops have an array of books, resources and merchandise for children and adults alike that have the words "his princess" proudly displayed. Churches have taken on the language of royalty as they present their ministry to women. Women are now described as "daughters of the king", and "warrior princesses". Captivating by Christian authors John and Stasi Eldredge has helped introduce this thinking to many Christian people.
Although we may not support the theological teachings of the Eldredges and similar writers, it would be naive not to recognise that their thoughts are being embraced by large numbers of Christian women all over the world and particularly within Sydney. Every March over 16,000 women gather for the opening night of Hillsong's annual Colour Your World Women's Conference. Last year (2007), the strong teaching message at this conference was that women are "daughters of the king " princess warriors".
So what does the Bible have to say about all this princess business? When I looked up the word "princess" in theological dictionaries and concordances I was surprised and even a little disappointed to find that it's not there. In my second search for "daughters of the king", there were references in the Old Testament to Michal, the daughter of King Saul, being given as a reward to David (1 Samuel 18:27); Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram, rescuing Joash from being killed (2 Kings 11:2; 2 Chronicles 22:11); and daughters of kings being among your honoured women (Psalm 45:9). But none of these supports the question in discussion.
So why has the term "princess" become so important in our current thinking? My belief is that it stems from our fallen nature and what seems to be our never-ending search for self-worth. I wonder if our promotion of self-esteem has fed into our desire to be something more? As Christians it is essential to keep the truth of God's word as our reference for engaging with this concept of princess.
We are made in the image of God and our security rests in Jesus and his saving work. We must direct women who are searching to find their worth and an understanding of themselves to the Bible. Its clear and strong message is that our worth is found in Christ who has saved us and called us to a holy life " not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace! God's grace towards us, while we were "unlovely", must be kept central to all that we teach. We are children of our heavenly Father and subjects of the King, at the one and same time. We do not need to interchange daughter for princess. Our true sense of worth is found in our saving relationship with Jesus.
Kerrie Newmarch is on the faculty of Youthworks College.
