Are You A Princess?

Are you a princess? I would request you to answer that truthfully before reading the rest of this post? Well, are you?

Princess culture has been so prevalent in the past few years. At first, it was just Barbie and Disney dolls and in came Bratz Dolls and all sorts of "princessy" items in the market. Megan Bashan of the Wall Street Journal wrote an interesting article on how this princess industry is turning little girls into future narcisstic women.

Bringing Up Princess: Turning Girls Into Narcissists
http://online.wsj.com - Megan Bashan - 12-June-09

The princess industry has been booming in the past few years -- not just the Disney dolls and scratchy toy-store ball gowns that are a rite of passage in most American girlhoods, but a brazen new breed of princess products that target a far wider age range and tap into less seemly attitudes. The hot-pink, leopard-print princess backpacks, T-shirts, purses and bedspreads that girls are now buying (or, rather, their parents are buying for them) have little to do with indulging sweet princess fantasies and everything to do with catering to over-indulged princess egos.

Take the popular tween retailer Justice. At malls nationwide, it carries multiple "Princess" tops and accessories that look a lot more like Paris Hilton's attire than Snow White's. No surprise that part of its marketing slogan is "Love yourself."

How many times have I seen girls wearing shirts with similar prints and didn't even realize that narcissism was creeping into the culture like a pussing kitten? I thought it was all cute and safe but reading Bashan's article revealed that there is an underlying power in this princessy culture that we all seem to adore. Bashan noted a sad fact that even we Christians have already caved into the princessy narcissism.

Sadly, even believing Christians are participating in the princess push. Christian retail outlets like A Different Direction carry "God's Girlz," glamour dolls dressed in princess shirts and spandex with sparkling tiaras on their heads. St. Paul may have exhorted women to be modest in their dress, but many church-going girls proudly wear Christian-marketed clothing imprinted with messages like "Yes, I am a Princess." The small print underneath -- "I'm a daughter of the King" -- is supposed to differentiate the sentiment from secular princess gear (never mind that the King's firstborn declared himself not a prince but a servant of all.)

Read the rest of the article>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I'm 100% sure that you answered, "Yes, I am a princess. I'm a daughter of the King." If you didn't, I bet your answer is the same but just of another form. Aren't we God's children? He is a King and so, we are His daughters. His princesses.

Most Christian girls have that reasoning and though there is truth in that logic, it poses a great danger to us on becoming narcissists. It may be we use that reasoning to have an alternative of the mainstream princess culture but the question we should answer is, "What kind of princess/daughter are you?"

While you may call yourself a princess, God doesn't want you to become a royalty. He, the King of all Kings and Lord of Lords, a royalty in every right, did not come down to earth to declare himself a royalty but to become a servant to all.

Philippians 2:5-8 tells how, as we daughters of the King (i.e."princesses") should conduct ourselves. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."

What is our attitude towards the prevailing princess culture? Do we consider ourselves none the better than others (Phil. 2:3) or puff up and declare royalty to our unbelieving counterparts with the hey-I'm-a-princess-too-daughter-of-the-Creator-King-of-all-Kings attitude?

What is it like to be a servant then? Phil 2:8 completes the answer of what it is like being a servant.

"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on the cross!"

As a servant He did more than healing the sick, raising the dead, turning blood into water, and feeding thousands. He served as an atonement for our sin.

Now, what are you? A serve-me-love-me princess? Or a Christ-like love-others-serve-others daughter?