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Culture Watch:The World Needs More Leopolds
by Lee Warren (Lee's bio)
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Raising the standard. It's a catch phrase you hear throughout Christendom. But, what exactly does it mean? And is it even possible to raise the standard in a world run amuck in sin?
In the recent hit movie, Kate & Leopold, Hugh Jackman plays the part of Leopold, the Third Duke of Albany, who is accidentally transported from 1870 to the twenty-first century, where he meets Kate, played by Meg Ryan. He brings with him all the customs of the nineteenth century, including standing up when a woman enters the room to show her honor and respect.
At first, nobody understands Leopold or his customs. He is made fun of and cast off as a bit of a nut case. But something happens when he doesn't bow to the new fast paced, technology driven way of life that Kate is trying desperately to succeed at. People are attracted to him and his way of doing things.
And why shouldn't they be? He's a throw back to what men used to be. He's rugged, charming, graceful, respectful and he is confident in his belief system.
In one scene Leopold tells Kate's male boss—who insinuates that her much anticipated promotion depends upon her sleeping with him—that he is treating her like a woman of the evening. Her boss is so embarrassed that he leaves her alone and eventually promotes her anyway.
In another scene he tells Kate's brother, Charlie—who needs help in the female department—that he should be pleasing women, not vexing them. Charlie spends so much time thinking about ways to impress women that he doesn't realize he is only focused on his desire to conquer his loneliness until Leopold gently points it out to him.
Then Leopold puts his own beliefs about how to treat a woman into action as he prepares a romantic dinner for Kate on her apartment rooftop—complete with a violinist, candles galore and flowers. I won't ruin the rest of the movie for those of you who haven't seen it. But suffice it to say that by the end of the movie, Leopold has affected everybody around him. The mocking has stopped and the standard has been raised.
Leopold didn't run from the culture he found himself in. He just lived the way he knew he was supposed to and he seemed to give little thought to conforming to his new surroundings. Sounds a lot like the Apostle Paul's words in Romans 12:2 about not being conformed to the image of this world.
Life is not a movie however and no matter how hard we try to live in a biblical fashion, we won't influence everyone around us. There will always be mockers and that's okay because ultimately God is in control of who we will and won't influence. Our job is to be faithful to the life that He has called us to live. When we are faithful, the standard will be raised, people will be influenced and God will be glorified.
Copyright 2002, Lee Warren. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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About Lee Warren: Lee Warren is a freelance writer from Omaha, Nebraska. He has written for various publications and is currently working on a novel. If you are interested in reading more of his work or in receiving his column via e-mail, please go to his website: www.leewarrenjr.com or drop him an e-mail: LeeWJunior@cox.net.
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