"The 'Princess and the Pea' Syndrome"

 

“’The 'Princess and the Pea’ Syndrome”

 

“Once Upon a Mattress” is a musical comedy based on the 1835 fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea” by Hans Christian Andersen. It first appeared on Broadway in 1959 and has seen numerous revivals since then. The plot surrounds Queen Aggravian’s ban on marriage in her kingdom until her son was married to a princess who met with her approval. The Queen devised a test for Princess Winnifred: sleeping on a bed twenty mattresses high wit a single pea underneath which she passed and “lived happily ever after” with her Prince.

“The Princess and the Pea” has found its way into our vernacular to describe emphasizing small things but missing the main point (or “majoring on minors”). During my pastoral years we replaced the large pulpit with a simple lectern. One church member told me he “couldn’t worship without the original pulpit”. My explanation that our objective was to lessen the perceived division between the pastors and congregation fell on deaf ears. In another case,  in my haste I wrote “Xmas” instead of “Christmas” on a chalkboard (remember those?), much to the annoyance of a man who lost the point I was making. My justification that “X” is the first letter of Christ in Greek didn’t make any headway. I’ve also been guilty of letting minor matters distract me and keep from grasping a more important truth—maybe you’ve had the same experience.

The Prophet Jonah allowed his concern for his personal comfort turn his attention from something far more important in God’s sight. The Lord said to his grousing servant, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. And a plant, at best, is only short lived. But Ninevah has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness…Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” (Jonah 4:10-11, NLT). I’d love to know Jonah’s response and the rest of his story (as I would with many Bible characters) but that’ll have to wait for Heaven. But I pray I’ll take God’s message to him seriously.

Our archenemy will try anything to distract us from “keeping the main thing the main thing”. We can’t afford to be “…unaware of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11), including diverting us from what matters most: honoring and serving our Lord. So at all costs let’s avoid “’The Princess and the Pea’ Syndrome” and emphasize the “…things (that) are excellent and profitable….” (Titus 3:8).

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan