You know you are old when movies that were in the theaters in your adolescence are called classics. I mean, “Snow white” is a classic. “Steam boat Willy” is a classic. But “The beauty and the beast”? Am I really that old already? Those thoughts hit me again when I watched Disney’s Aladdin with my kids the other night. It brought back memories of people singing “A whole new world” all around me. Yep, that song was more encouraging than the more recent “Let it go”. And don’t get me started on “Mother knows best”! In addition to the by now all too familiar “man, you are old!” I stumbled over a major plot hole. It is something the entire movie hinges on. And it is the idea that only “the diamond in the rough” can get the lamp out of the cave of wonders.
Besides being a plot hole (which I will come back to), what is that about anyway? Is it supposed to be a fail safe? So that no one can use the lamp who is not worthy? I mean, that didn’t work out. And why does the cave tell Jafar what to do? Of course, I know, this idea of the hidden gem is in the movie to bring Aladdin into play. But also to mark him as the good guy. And that is important, because when the guards chase him through the city he is clearly the perpetrator and on the wrong side of the law in any culture that is not anarchy. And yet, we are called to believe that he is right and the soldiers are wrong. Him breaking the law is good and them holding up the law is evil. Aladdin is the good guy and they are the bad guys. But the worst is their leader Jafar. Here you find all qualities an evil person needs. He looks like the bad guy (most important), he has the voice of the bad guy (super important), he talks like the bad guy (very important), he has the intentions of the bad guy (important), and he does bad thinks (not unimportant). Aladdin on the other hand has charisma. And we are ok with him breaking the law. He takes thinks from their rightful owners and it is cute. (Manly thanks to Abu, his trusted monkey.) But when Jafar takes the lamp from Aladdin (who sort of stole it himself) it is really bad. And when it comes to their intentions I don’t thing that there is much of a difference between Aladdin and Jafar after all. Both want, what they want for purely selfish reasons. And they are doing everything in their power to get the life they think they deserve. The only difference between them (besides the way they are drawn and acted out) is their starting point. While Jafar begins as the grant visor or the sultan, Aladdin starts in the gutter. But ultimately they both climb the same ladder of self-actualization. Both of them travel in the well-known and beloved company of me, myself, and I. Jafar is just a few steps ahead of Aladdin. That’s why he can kick at him.
But what is the difference then? There is a point in the movie when Aladdin realizes that he has to stop thinking about himself and start thinking about others. And the difference is, that Jafar never arrives there. But it is important to notice, that he could, yet he doesn’t. And in a way this situation is, where the thief and wannabe prince, this liar and cheat, this selfish egomaniac becomes the good guy. Until then he is not good by any standard. But Aladdin has a good heart and Jafar has an evil one, right? I don’t know. They both look highly selfish to me.
But what is the super plot hole now? The simple answer is: There was only one “diamond in the rough”. Shouldn’t there be more people with a good heart in this big city? And Aladdin’s heart was not even good. It was self-centered. Just like Jafar’s or the one from the poor fellow who died in the cave at the first attempt to retrieve the lamp. They had all the same agenda: Use everyone around you to achieve your plans. But why is this “diamond in the rough” thing so crucial for the movie? Because it resonates in us. We want to be found out as being the good guys. We want to be the diamonds. Something tells us, that we are diamonds inside, but when we look at our lives we often see only the rough parts.
Right at the beginning of the Bible we are told that we are made reflecting God. We are precious because we carry the image and nature of God himself. Our worth exceeds the value of diamonds by far. And yet we are covered in dirt. So much so that we are unable to see ourselves in God’s eternal light. But that is, what we are called out to. We are made to shine and reflect His glory. Everyone around us shell see the beauty of the One who made us. But just like Aladdin it will only happen when we abandon our ways of selfish living. When we stop climbing the ladder of self-service. When we stop putting ourselves on the throne of our live, giving it back to God instead. He will turn us into gorgeous gems more beautiful than we could ever have hoped for. We have to start walking with Jesus and leaving our old companions me, myself, and I behind. Because when Jesus promised His presence when two or three are gathered in His name, he was surely not talking about those three.
