A Tale of Change: Lessons from Beauty and the Beast

   “One winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away, but she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within” (Beauty and the Beast).

   The opening lines in Beauty and the Beast are probably some of the most powerful lines in the whole movie. It sets up the rest of the movie and reveals what the moral of the story will be. The whole movie is about not judging a book by its cover, and if you know Belle you know she loves books. What a coincidence right?

   Anyhow, there are other lessons we can learn from each of the characters in the movie; but let’s just stick to the main characters, shall we?

   From the very beginning of the movie we find out that Belle is considered odd. People do not like her new ways of reading and thinking. During the rest of the musical Belle learns to stand up for what she believes in. She chooses to be happy for how unique she is. God made us all unique and special. We should be thankful for how we are made and stand up for what we believe in (Psalm 139:14).

   Another lesson we learn from Belle is forgiveness. Imagine being Belle when she offers herself in exchange for her father, talk about self-sacrifice! She could have chosen to hold on to her anger toward the Beast. He took her away from her home and family. Doesn’t she have a right to be angry? Not according to God. He has forgiven us for our sins before we committed them. Thus, why we are called to forgive others (Ephesians 4:32).

   Next we have the Beast. He is a grumpy, selfish, angry man from the beginning of the movie. He is stubborn and set in his ways. If Belle is considered the kind, retriever like, push over then Beast is the opposite of that. You can only guess how the rest of the musical goes, opposites attract ;) Beast did not care for anyone but himself. He threw a pity party every day and refused to let go of his anger. He directed his anger at others but he was truly angry at himself. The lesson here is to let go of the anger we have from the past. It is the only way we can look forward to the future (Philippians 3:13-14).

   Beast did not stay that way. He chose to turn from his old ways of being selfish and angry. Beast in essence repented. He turned away from his old life and found a new life. The only way he did that was by loving others. We can also turn away from the old and show love to others (Acts 3:19).

   Finally, a lesson we can learn from the whole movie is change. Change is not easy. It means we need to let go of what we are used to. That means we need to let go of our old lives, old places, or people. But, without change there can be no growth. God gives us opportunities to change and grow in him, we just have to be willing to change for the better (Philippians 4:6-7).

   So, will you choose to be uniquely you and not care what others think? Will you forgive those who wrong you? Will you turn away from sins? Will you change and grow in God?

   P.S. Donegal High School is putting on the musical Beauty and the Beast this weekend. If you have time, I encourage you to check it out. It is a really amazing show!