You Are The One You’ve Been Waiting For? How To Help Kids Think Biblically About Value And Worth

Do you remember that moment when Disney came within inches of the gospel, but instead of bringing it home did a one-eighty?

No, I’m not talking about the Jungle Book scene where Bagheera quotes,

"Greater love hath no one than he who lays down his life for his friend."

I’m referring to that moment in Frozen 2 when Elsa is on the verge of discovering what she needs to save herself and her people. I remember sitting in the theater, amazed at how Disney had so accurately captured the facial expression of someone craving rescue.

I thought, "Yes, this is our common gospel hunger!" The longing to be restored from brokenness. But Disney’s resolution to this scene fell miles short of the gospel.

In the climax of the song Show Yourself, Elsa’s mom exclaims,

“You are the one you’ve been waiting for.”

And immediately Elsa’s face is flooded with peace, joy, and relief.

This resolution may work in the fictitious land of Arendelle. But, in the real world of sin and suffering, it brings nothing but pain and heartache.

I explored 7 common lies our kids are hearing today during an interview with Mike Winger. This quote in particular from The Frozen 2 is one I'll elaborate further on in this post.

Contents:

1. It’s Just an Innocent Saying…Right?
2. Biblical Gift of Value and Worth for Our Kids
3. Conclusion

It’s Just an Innocent Saying…Right?

You may be thinking.

“Really?”

“Frozen 2 is just a kids’ movie. Do we need to evaluate such an innocent saying?”

Well, that depends. Is the claim, You are the one you’ve been waiting for, really all that innocent?

The Underlying Belief of This Saying

At the root of this claim are two key beliefs:

First, that the brokenness we feel and experience is a result of external, societal influencers.

Second, that the solution to this brokenness is strength that we find within ourselves. If these beliefs are reality-based, then by all means let’s allow our kids to adopt them.

However, the biblical worldview teaches just the opposite.

The Biblical Belief About Brokenness

According to Scripture, the brokenness all humans experience is the result of sin. Yes, there is much brokenness “out there” in society. But the primary brokenness from which we suffer is internal. It is the sin nature we inherited from Adam and the sin we daily commit that alienates us from God. And the solution to this problem is not found within.

According to the biblical worldview, we do not have what we need within to rescue ourselves. Our primary need is not isolation from societal influences, mustering internal strength, or even boosted self-confidence.

Our primary need is reconciliation with God, and that is only found through trusting in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Allowing our kids to buy into the lie that they are the ones they have been waiting for is like using Band-Aids and Neosporin to cure cancer!

Biblical Gift of Value and Worth for Our Kids

So, what are we to do?

How do we help our kids avoid captivity to this lie, while also developing a biblical, reality-based sense of worth?

Talk About Objective Value and Worth

The first thing we need to do is to help our kids understand their objective value and worth.

The easiest way to do this is to take them straight to Genesis 1:26-28, which discusses humans being made in the image of God.

We can ask our kids,

“According to this passage, do all humans have value?”

“Why or why not?”

“Can anyone take this value away from a human?”

With kids eight and older, we can dive in further by asking,

“If we take God out of the picture and believe that humans are the accidental products of blind evolution, do humans have objective value?”

“How do you know?”

We want to help our kids see that it is only the biblical worldview that grounds human value objectively. All other prominent worldviews in our culture are just grasping at subjective value.

Further Explain The Brokenness Within

Next, we want to help our kids understand that brokenness comes from within.

The easiest way to do this is to be honest with our kids about where we have fallen short. (Trust me, they are already aware of this. 😊)

And we can ask,

“If everything went perfectly and we had no problems, would we still struggle with brokenness?”

Then we can point out times when things have been going well, but we have still struggled with impatience, anger, envy, etc.

And, finally, we can take them to passages of Scripture discuss God graciously reconciling us to Himself through Jesus. (Romans 5, 2 Corinthians 5, Ephesians 1)

When our kids begin to understand both their inherent value and the depth of their brokenness, we shine a spotlight on the true rescuer – Jesus.

Unlike Band-Aids that are powerless to reverse the effects of cancer, Jesus provides the complete and only cure.

Conclusion

No, you are not the one you have been waiting for. And in that truth lies both freedom and hope.

These conversations about brokenness, sin, objective value and self-worth are so important to have with our children. If this was helpful please open up even more conversations from Frozen 2 that will empower your kids to think biblically about the content they watch.

If you think you need tools to train kids for life-long critical thinking skills, our curriculums are available to help promote further growth for both parents, teachers and children. You can always start with a free sample lesson.