Gag Me

I used to like to think of myself as a manly Christian. Is that weird? Maybe a tad. But it seemed preferable to thinking of myself as a girly Christian. Girly Christians made me gag.

That sounds like such a harsh way to start this post, but I've got to be honest, right?

So maybe I should explain myself before anyone takes this the wrong way. It all goes back to one particular night in college when I found myself slightly ashamed to be a girl. You see, I was involved in Campus Crusade for Christ and we would often have "Mens' Times" and "Womens' Times" where the boys and girls would separate and we would hear talks geared specifically for our gender. To some of you this sounds weird already, doesn't it?

Well, anyway, on one fateful night I remember coming home from our Women's Time and talking to some of the boys. They were super pumped about what they had learned and were talking on and on about it. It was something totally manly and spiritual like being a man and rejecting passivity. Then the unfortunate moment came when they asked us what we learned at the Women's Time, and I had to choke out these words: "Well, we learned that since Jesus is a Prince and we are all his adopted sisters that we are, in fact, all princesses."

At this point it might help to remind you that I was not in kindergarten but college.

So it was at that moment that I decided to try and 'man up' the women's ministry on our campus. I was desperate for opportunities to go deeper; I wanted to learn something more significant than my princess status or how to look trendy and modest at the same time. . . I firmly believed that being a girl didn't mean I had to be a syrupy Christian.

I still believe all those things are true, but I gotta admit, my perspective on the princess thing has changed.

I think we need to hear about our princess status in Christ; I think we're never too old to be reminded of what it means to be a girl and a Christian at the same time.

Here's the deal: I've never met a girl who didn't struggle with insecurity and unhealthy comparison on one level or another. And the only truly effective solution I've ever found for this epidemic is understanding our true identity and ultimate worth in God's eyes.

You see, not talking about these things would be like trying to skip kindergarten. No one skips kindergarten - its where you learn how to read and the rest of school would be a little challenging if you couldn't read.

Its no different with the princess thing. It is foundational to our relationship with God and our ability to live out our faith effectively. The problem is that a lot of us start hearing about it when we're 5, so we associate it as a lack of growth and maturity thing. We think things like, "Oh, I've heard that since I was 5, I get it. I don't need to hear about the princess thing anymore - I'm too mature for that."

Except - I think we have a faulty system for determining when we have graduated from princess training school. Take reading, for example. When do you know that someone has learned to read? When they can read. Brilliant.

So, how do we know that we have fully understood our position in Christ as a girl? When we live and act and speak and think in ways that show complete confidence in ourselves and the way that God has made us. When we are never tempted to judge another girl's behavior or skills or put someone else down so that we will feel better about ourselves. When we are overjoyed at the successes of others even if it means we're a notch or two lower on the totem pole.

Whenever there are still hints of insecurity in our lives, well, those are reminders that on some level we have not fully understood or accepted our princess status. The funny thing is that when I was 19 I thought I had passed that course. I thought it was beneath me.

Now that I'm 30 I am realizing that I might never pass that course. I will be in princess training for the rest of my life. . . and I'm ok with that. My brilliant solution to all of this is to do both. I can simultaneously work on understanding my position in Christ and growing deeper in my knowledge of the Scriptures. They can work together. . .

It is a dangerous place to be when we think we have it all figured out, don't you think?

Its ok to be a girly Christian. . . so long as we are continually striving to find our full selves in Christ and pursue Him with all we are and have. . .

I'm a princess.

And I'm not feeling the urge to gag one bit.