Beauty & The Beast

By Rob Furlong
Challenge Newspaper June 2005

Remember the song “Hero” by Phil Collins and Dave Crosby?

It was one of those great stories
That you can’t put down at night
The hero knew what he had to do
And he wasn’t afraid to fight
The villain goes to jail
While the hero goes free
I wish it were that simple for me.

And the reason that she loved him
Was the reason I loved him too
And he never wondered what was Right or wrong
He just knew
He just knew
And we wonder, yes we wonder
How do you make sense of this
When the hero kills the maiden
With his kiss – with his kiss.

As John Eldredge has pointed out in his book, Wild At Heart, the third passion that lies in the heart of every man is that of wanting a beauty to rescue.

As I was growing up, the stories that always inspired my heart were those where the knight or the soldier fought with great gallantry and bravery in order to win the hand of the beautiful woman.

Sometimes she was in danger, sometimes she was not. But over and over, the man pursued her, not to possess or dominate her, but in order to win her love and respect.

This is why what we now call “Chick Flicks” are so incredibly popular with people. The theme of the beauty rescued by the gallant man often runs through them. It’s one of the reasons why Pretty Woman was so hugely successful. While there was much about this film that I did not like, at the end, Richard Gere fulfils Julia Roberts’ dream by storming her “castle” and rescuing her from the degradation she has fallen into: the beauty is rescued!

This theme is why I also love Disney’s Beauty And The Beast! It has it all:

The ugly and unlovable Beast.
Belle, the beautiful heroine.
The false and egotistical suitor, Gaston.
The noble sacrifice of love.

You see, the film teaches an important truth. Beauty can be pursued for its own sake. Gaston only courts Belle because, after all, he “is the best” and he “deserves the best”.

The beast, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with Belle initially, and twisted by his own bitterness he does his best to reject her. But once he recognises the greatness and largeness of her beauty – both inwardly and outwardly – he is smitten! And in the end, he rescues her and he also is rescued ... because he has truly learned how to love.

Eldredge makes the observation that a man needs to know that he is a hero to someone; in other words, his wife. There is something incredibly noble and uplifting about the man who pursues a woman not to make her another “conquest” but to call to his side and share a God-given adventure together.

I remember when it happened for me. When I was dating Karen our relationship hit a rocky patch and we parted for a while. But there came a day when I pursued her, not for her own sake, but simply to say, “Look, I believe God has a great plan for me ... and I want you to share it with me.”

Looking back almost 25 years later, I believe that was the turning point for our relationship. She ultimately said yes ... and we have shared a wonderful adventure together to this day.

Speaking about his bride, Solomon said, “My dove, my perfect one, is unique.” (Song of Songs 6:9)
It is clear that he treasured her above all other women. Men, learn to treasure the woman in your life like that!

A cautionary word – there is a difference between pursuing a woman and stalking her. I will talk about this next month.