I Am Not A King

As suckers for period films, Brenda and I went to see King's Speech last night. It's one of those movies that lovers of action or slasher films might snooze through. But we totally loved it from beginning to end.

As one who grew up stammering myself (see my blog entry about it from last year), I felt uneasy each time the future King of England would try to painfully force out a syllable in the movie. The fear of stuttering while speaking in public was almost as intimidating as the childhood fears that caused it in the first place.

In the movie, King George VI--played brilliantly by Colin Firth--was reluctantly forced upon the responsibility of the Monarchy after his father, King George V, died and the scandalous abdication of his older brother, King Edward VIII. Bertie, as his family called him, believed himself ill suited for the position. His speech impediment inhibited his ability to speak on the new burgeoning communication medium of radio, as his father was so masterfully able to do. Even before he took the throne, his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), the future Queen Mother, arranged for a speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) to help him. The Prince and the commoner had a rough start due to the therapist's refusal to kowtow to the spoiled Royal. Soon, with small successes, the subsequent King of England went on to deliver a wartime speech that united a nation. Lionel and Bertie remained friends for life.

The movie, as all great ones do, made me think. It reminded me of Moses, who was thrust on the stage during one of the greatest periods in the history of Israel to lead his people out of Egypt. Even as many would jump at the chance, Moses coiled back in reservation. His brother Aaron was given the task of spokesperson because Moses had a speech problem (Ex. 4:10-16). God didn't want Aaron to lead, He wanted Moses. The prophet Isaiah, at another time in Israel's history, was overwhelmed after he was commissioned by God to speak to the people. “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts," was his reaction to the invitation (Isaiah 6:5).

In the movie, after King George VI took the throne, he was sitting with his wife, head in hand, troubled that he would fail at this great trust that his country was placing on him. After all, Hitler was romping through Europe, and he felt it was his duty to stand up to the Fuhrer's advances. As he became vulnerable to the point of open sobbing, his wife consoled him by saying that she believed in him and his greatness as a person. He said to her tearfully, "I am not a king." Lionel Logue, the speech therapist, helped the King deliver his great speech, all the while encouraging him to face his fears, and reminding him that he was up to the task of the King of England.

Some of us will be thrust into situations not of our choosing where we will be required to take on actions or responsibilities that are greater than us. The truth is, we never know the potential within us until we are challenged and our natures are called to action. When those opportunities arise, we have a God Who will go before us with words, wisdom and grace for endurance. I am not a king, but I serve a great King. His voice can be heard through even the most humble person's willingness to stand up to a challenging task.