Americans are deeply divided on many issues, such as the economy, immigration, foreign affairs and how our country should be run. However, one issue, or rather, one person, seems to break through all the divisions and unite us under one unshakable opinion.
That person is Meghan Markle, and the opinion is that she is awful. The Duchess of Sussex recently released her new Netflix series, and while the hate is predictably coming from all sides, there is a deeper part to this story worth exploring.
“With Love, Meghan” is a nine-episode lifestyle show. In each episode, Meghan spends time with a friend or a chef as she teaches the audience how to cook, wrap presents, set up a guest’s spare room and more. The show highlights Meghan’s extremely high-end lifestyle, endless budget, famous friends and, my personal favorite, access to an unbelievable personal garden.
Now, if you have spent any time online, you have most likely seen that avalanche of meanness rolling down from the opinion world and piling up on Meghan. The show currently has a 3.1 rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and every commentator and writer seems to agree that it is boring, contrived, inauthentic and unrelatable. Article titles include calling her the “ultimate CopyKate” and the show an “exercise in narcissism” with “an unerring instinct for getting it wrong.”
Brutal.
While joining in the cultural pile might seem fun, it does not serve the public or our souls to so relentlessly bully one woman, even if we think she deserves it. So please know that I am not writing this piece to carelessly join in the hate.
More interesting than the mere fact that people love to hate Meghan is the question, “Why?” Why do people love to hate her so much? Many say it is because Meghan and Harry fled the Royal family, claiming to want privacy, but since then have only sought publicity. There is also, of course, the fact that Harry and Meghan threw the Royal family under the bus repeatedly. These criticisms of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are valid, but I believe the reason goes even deeper and can be found in the teachings of Jesus.
In every story, we can find sin and its consequences, as well as righteousness and its benefits. God’s reality is reality, so if we are willing to survey the world with a critical eye, an open heart, and ears to hear, we can learn what God wants to teach us and become people of true wisdom. The entire Meghan and Harry debacle is no different.
So where is God in all of this?
In Matthew 5, Jesus says, “If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
Jesus taught this because he knows well the nature of sin. Sin always brings with it death and disorder; it wreaks havoc on human relationships. Our Lord also knows that the consequences of sin will not just go away if we ignore them. Sin wounds and, if not dealt with, festers over time, spreading like cancer from one part of our lives to another, overshadowing everything. No matter how hard we try to beautify other parts of our lives, the consequences of sin remain. It is only by dealing with sin through Confession, repentance, healing and reparation that God can break the power of sin over us.
Currently, Meghan is trying to offer the gift without making amends and is failing at every turn.
The entire world watched as Meghan and Harry said horrible things about the Royals in interviews and books, essentially airing out this very private family's dirty laundry for all to see. Harry’s once very close relationship with his family has been completely destroyed. The Duke and Duchess now live an extravagant exile in their Montecito mansion, with their title and plenty of royal money to fund their lifestyle.
Still, I believe the public would be willing to let much of it go if Meghan and Harry took any responsibility for the fall out. They never have.
They’ve never apologized or shown an ounce of humility. And while I do not hate Meghan Markle or her show, it is clearly an attempt to hypnotize audiences into forgetting the drama that elevated her fame in the first place by showcasing the quiet luxury of homegrown produce, glasses of rosé and handwritten menus. She wants the audience to embrace her as if nothing ever happened.
The problem is that it doesn’t work that way for her, and it doesn’t work that way for us.
Are you trying to make a gift at the altar, knowing there is a sin, wound or broken relationship you are trying to ignore? How is that working for you? Has it just gone away? Or is it possible that while you pretend it isn’t there, it continues to grow and affect other areas of your life?
Our Lord does not want that for you. He longs for you to go to him, humble yourself and repent. He calls you to initiate forgiveness as much as possible in your relationships. That doesn’t mean that everything can always be easily fixed. In this valley of tears, many times, what is broken cannot be fully put back together on this side of Heaven. With the Lord, however, healing and freedom are always possible. Go to him, address the problem and allow him to heal you. Only then can you truly move on in freedom.
All in all, I must be honest. I liked “With Love, Meghan.” As a self-proclaimed bad hostess, the show inspired me to find small ways to bring more beauty and delight into my house. I took away easy ideas to help me elevate the details of my messy life, that is filled with busy schedules and many little kids. And watching the show with a Christian worldview, I was reminded even more that true beauty shines forth from a heart in love with God. So please excuse me while I go to pray a Rosary and make Meghan’s recommended lavender towels.
With Love,
Mallory Smyth
