From Prince to King
The prince returns from battle, covered in cuts, bruises, and blood. It is gruesome, as all war is. The prince, followed by the valiant members of his battalion, chosen warriors fit for the service of a king, walks triumphantly through the gates of his father’s kingdom. Returning from victorious war, the prince is met with praise and celebration by those he fiercely fought for. And the king of the kingdom welcomes him with a firm embrace, a hug that communicates pride, joy, and the sentiment that he views his son as a man. An equal in the ranks of men across history.
You, your son, your husband, your father, your nephew is the prince. The fight is for the kingdom you inhabit, the kingdom that will one day be yours, or is already yours. The prince, however, must prove himself.
The “nepo-baby” (an abbreviation for nepotism baby) irks most people. What infuriates us about the nepo-baby? What gets our hearts pounding and our fists clenched when we hear a story of a friend who was passed up for a promotion that he fought for and earned, in light of the new kid who “coincidentally” is the son of the boss’s golf buddy? Why does this enrage us? The kingdom does not belong to an unworthy king.
There is a trial period in which the prince must prove himself. Stories of old recount the consequences of an unworthy prince stepping into the role of king. The archetype is one of disaster, moral corruption, and ultimate destruction. That is until the rightful heir arrives on the scene. The chosen son, often once overlooked and shamed by others, arrives and changes the entire momentum of the kingdom. In an instant the true king wins the hearts of his people, who had long yearned for him, knowing that the unworthy king was a counterfeit. In an instant the true king sets the kingdom in balance, rescuing his people from the clutches of evil. But how does the prince become a man that is capable of such things? How does the prince become the true king?
It all begins with the prince’s father. Training, equipping, and mentoring are the initial methods of this initiation. Teaching the prince the necessary skills is crucial for his survival. When the boy becomes a man, however, the trial is fire. The king must offer his son to the dangerous realities of the world by removing the safety and infantilism of the walled kingdom. The prince must be entrusted with the battles, hardships, and threats of life in order to prove to the king, the citizens of the kingdom, and the prince himself that he does in fact have what it takes.
This trial is just as much for the prince as it is for anyone else. A prince that hides behind his father’s army does not earn the confidence required and the authority to wield that army. Passionate courage and self-sacrifice is the means by which this authority is earned. That is why the king must be intentional with training and even more intentional with the moment of testing. A jealous, lazy, unworthy king will be clouded, bent on stifling his son in the name of his own glorification. He will spend his time belittling, shaming, cursing, beating his son to prove to himself that he is powerful and worthy. He does this to his own shame and the consequence of his entire kingdom. A loving king recognizes that it is the purpose of his life to initiate his son, bestow upon him the crown, and pass to him the mantle and headship of the kingdom because the prince can and must do it.
All of this begins with the willing sacrifice of the prince to the natural trials of the world, trials known to all kings anywhere, trusting that he will prevail in the name of goodness and earn the right to lead the kingdom.
Devastation ensues when the prince, the heir to the throne, loses his life or otherwise fails during this trial. Failure is often viewed as a determination that the preparedness required for headship was unmet. However, I would like to argue that it was actually the prince’s willingness to embark on a journey where he may lose his life that actually qualifies him for the crown. The strength of an army, the strategies used by either side, the actual mistakes that any individual will certainly make, do not disqualify a worthy son from his father’s throne. The prince proves himself in the forward movement towards uncertainty, towards the possibility of his own self-sacrifice in the name of freedom and safety for his kingdom because these are the behaviors required of a king.
I think of the husbands and fathers that take on home intruders, fending them off while police arrive. They may lose their lives, and many have, but this is not failure or weakness. It is strength. They have proven their worthiness to bear the crown they wore. They offered their strength to those that lived within their kingdoms at the expense of their own life. It is the greatest sign of love, something the king must learn to embody.
This battle is often not literal like the prince going to war or the noble man defending his home. Today’s prince is often initiated through trials of emotional, mental, and spiritual kinds. This is less tangible than the rite of passage once found in the Maasai tribe of Kenya and Tanzania, who used to prove their manhood through the hunting and killing of a lion. Boys don’t go to war in the postmodern West. Teenagers aren’t shepherds who defend their flock against wild predators with a dagger and some rocks. Things are safe. Challenges are in the classroom and on the playground. In young adulthood it’s college, bars, and hookup dating. Rarely is any of this sufficient. Rarely do these challenges equate to the level of a hard fought and victorious battle. Why couldn’t it be as simple as killing a lion?
The prince must search out the battle for themselves. Their king would be wise to bring hope, courage, bravery, and guidance in this battle, perhaps what was offered to them or what they wish was offered to them. But ultimately the prince must fight for their own lives, for their own initiation. This cannot be coerced, tricked, or bypassed. Unworthy kings do that. The challenge must be met head on. Out of this will come men fit to be kings, men who have answered the age old question “Do I have what it takes?” Out of this will come men ready to rule their kingdoms. But they must find the true beetles worth fighting. And then go fight.
You will come out with cuts, bruises, and blood splattered all over you. It’s unfortunate but true, the realities of war. No one believes that they have what it takes, but the war cannot be avoided forever. Face it. Become the king you were born to be.
