We took our girls to see Cinderella over spring break last week. I don’t know why but Cinderella has always been my favorite Disney fairy tale, so I was pretty excited to see the remake of the old classic myself. To my surprise, outside of some live-action scenes and special effects, this new version stayed pretty close to the original storyline. From a purely entertainment standpoint, one might say that the storyline was a little lacking. There were no new angles to the story, no surprise twists or even a modern spin to it. For me personally, it was a pleasant surprise because the purity of the story’s message remained intact and in some ways became more apparent. Even though Cinderella is not a Christian movie per se, I was able to take away from it a few nuggets of wisdom that made me think of truths from Scripture.
The message of the movie hinges on the words of wisdom that Cinderella’s mother passes on to her daughter on her dying bed. She says to Cinderella, “Have courage and be kind.” It all sounds very nice but what does it really mean? As the movie progresses, we are able to connect her mother’s advice with Cinderella’s words and actions. On Cinderella’s first encounter with the Prince, not knowing who he really was, she states emphatically that “Just because it’s what’s done doesn’t mean it’s what should be done.” Later on as she is about to face the Prince again, the narrator says, “Would who she was really be enough? There was no magic to help her this time. This is perhaps the greatest risk any of us will ever take—to be seen as we truly are.”
In the world of social media we live in today, it’s so easy to build a façade of how we want to present ourselves and our lives to the world. It takes courage to strip down and expose yourself as you truly are without any pretense or filters. It takes even more courage to stay true to yourself, your beliefs, your principles, your purpose, even though at times, you may be going against the flow. But that’s what God calls us to do, to not be influenced by the ways of this world but remain strong in the truth of His Word. Romans 2:12 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Being kind to those who love you may be easy but what about being kind to your enemies? Jesus challenges us in Luke 6:32-33, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.” Jesus goes a step further in Luke 6:35-36 where he says, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” We are to basically kill our enemies with kindness. Cinderella’s kindness did not stop even when her kindness was never returned, even when she was bullied and mistreated. At the very end, we see that her kindness endures when she turns to her stepmother and says, “I forgive you.” Cinderella’s mother believed that “where there is kindness, there is goodness, and where there is goodness, there is magic.” I have to agree and I believe that the magic that happens when we love our enemies is God’s transforming grace.
Have a blessed rest of the week!
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Love this post! I haven’t seen the movie yet (I’m waiting for it to arrive in English!), but I love love this message. It’s really true – courage and kindness aren’t always that easy to incorporate in our modern daily lives – but they are both so important!
I need to remember this…good quote! I haven’t seen Cinderella yet and need to go!
~~Megan~~
http://www.poshprime.com
I am tearing up at this moment….YES to all of this including the Cinderella story!! I cried the entire movie because it is true to the core…fairytale or not….have courage and be kind resonated with me…but also this…“Would who she was really be enough? There was no magic to help her this time. This is perhaps the greatest risk any of us will ever take—to be seen as we truly are.” I am sharing your post on FB as it is a beautiful reminder to all…especially in the world we live in.
This is my favorite part —“where there is kindness, there is goodness, and where there is goodness, there is magic.” Magic, miracles, all good stuff!
Positive energy and love to all!
Love,SMD’s Momma
Hi, Cynthia! I’m stopping over from Shanna’s IG post. Great post! I love everything you said and totally agree!
I saw the movie and I couldn’t agree more with you! It is hard to show our true self and it is also hard to forgive enemies or to not let their words get to us. Disney always does great movies!
Cinderella is one of my favorites too! I haven’t seen the remake yet, but I am so glad that they decided to stick to the original storyline, and that there was evidence of true life lessons. More movies should be like this!
Looking forward to seeing this movie! My granddaughter has seen it twice already and loved it! Thanks again for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop!
I love this quote from the bible you wrote ! “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.” God does not mince his words! Even in present times these biblical phrases are powerful and relevant!
http://www.dressed2dnines.com
So beautifully written! I love how you connected Cinderella in a biblical way. I think when we look hard enought we can see God in everything, whether a Disney movie or not! Thanks for sharing this perspective! 🙂
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I love Cinderella and now after having read your post, I really want to watch the new version too.
Thank you for sharing dear Cynthia!
<3 <3 Mahshid مهشید
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Cinderella has always been my favorite too! I haven’t seen the recent version, glad to hear it’s worth it. I love how you really bring out the message of Cinderella – I honestly think it sometimes get lost in all the other magic of the story. But Cinderella’s enduring kindness has always been the best part.
I found your blog through the Shine Blog Hop!
What a beautiful post Cynthia, it really touched my heart and moved every single cell of my body. The loving energy that emanates from the words you wrote is very powerful and captivating. Being kind to our enemies is a very challenging act for the ego. We are love by essence so being loving and kind should be our natural way of being but our egocentric minds get on the way taking over our lives making us believe what we are not. Staying true to myself is something I have been trying to work on for a while but very challenging to do especially these day when social media is taking over our entire society. Thanks for sharing such beautiful words of wisdom my sweet friend. Blessings to you and your family. XOXO, Jeannette
http://www.msjeannieandhercloset.com
I’ve been hearing so much about this Cinderella movie – I really want to see it!
These are such important and encouraging words you’ve shared here.
Thanks for sharing and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop. I hope you can stop by and link up again tomorrow.
Wishing you a lovely evening.
xoxo