The Rainbow Fish: A Horror Story for Christians

This post is from both Witness 1 and Witness 2. It dissects the agenda behind a famous children's book, and it is a reminder for readers to embrace the unique gifts God gave you - even if the world tries to crush or steal them. This post is dedicated to The Third Witness for his special and unique gifts and his great support of our ministry!

Introduction - Story Time

I read to my son every night before bed, and we stumbled upon this classic children's book a few times. "The Rainbow Fish" is shiny and sparkly, and kids love it. However, there is a strange and subversive message that reminds me of Ayn Rand's warnings to society: Do not give up what makes you unique to please others. Unfortunately, the theme of this novel is just that - you must sacrifice what is good or beautiful about you to appease others. Let me explain.

The book begins with a lovely rainbow fish that is unlike the others - it has sparkly, distinct scales, but nobody likes this fish. Here are some key passages from the book that stood out to me:

Interpretation:

Unfortunately, the Rainbow Fish does end up doing what the Octopus says, and this reminds me immediately of my posts on marine spirits. Please check out my post here for more on the Marine Kingdom and how to conquer it.

The octopus is an evil marine spirit, and I do not think this is coincidence in this children's novel. They even made the Octopus appear dark and gloomy - not at all trustworthy, and I believe this was purposeful. Remember, Ursula from the Little Mermaid is an octopus, too.

People can say I am reading too much into this, but I completely disagree. This narrative of appeasing others is what was taught to our generation, and of course, the following generations up until today. According to society, we are to sacrifice what is unique about us and conform to society in order to experience love and belonging.

This narrative, whether intentional or not (and I believe it is intentional), is completely counter to what the Bible says.

The idol here is caring too much about appeasing the world. How many times have you hid a part of yourself because the world would not accept you? How many times were you fearful to show your faith in Christ due to mockery or unacceptance? We have all been there.

Valuing the perception of others too highly is an idol, and this book is all about idolizing people liking us. In fact the message is, "Do what it takes to get the world to like you."

First, let's remember what the Bible says about idols. In our (almost) daily Bible study, in 1 Corinthians 10, Paul says:

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

Tomorrow, 8/31/24, we will be on 1 Corinthians 11, and 9/1/24, we will be on 1 Corinthians 12, and so on. I'm going to make a calendar soon (or can someone in the council?)

Getting back to the point, Paul explains that we must do our best as Christians to please others; however, it has to be for the glory of God, and that is what is missing from the book.

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

So, then, the problem with "The Rainbow Fish" and everything else in society, is that it has principles without God. This book is about doing things for the glory of other people, not God. The Bible is about doing things always for the glory of God.

As a Christian, I do my best to please my brothers and sisters in Christ - for the glory of God! That's it. Not to just please them, but because I want God to be pleased with me. In other words, we should try our best to have proper fellowship and love with other Christians for the sake of God. We should try to get along, share, and help each other for the sake of God.

However, the Bible doesn't say this about the world. In fact, we should care nothing about what the world thinks of us, and the Bible is clear that the world will hate true Christians for Jesus's namesake.

Witness 1 says, "This book, like others, is a bastardized messiah story, in which a fish gives away pieces of himself for the sake of the world. However, it's been twisted to present an almost-communistic type appeal to tell children that literal shiny objects are what matters in life, and not only that, but giving them away to their friends for no good reason."

So, then, here are some important things for us to all remember:

1. We should not idolize the thoughts of others, especially those of the world, and we should not give up what makes us special for the world.
2. We should do our best to pay more attention to our Christian brothers and sisters; however it should all be for the glory of God and His will for us.
3. When truly following Christ, we will stand out like "The Rainbow Fish", and we should not cast pearls before swine, or give away our shiny scales to heathen!

To note, I reread the story to my son, and I changed all the words. I said the Rainbow Fish stood up against the Octopus, and it didn't share its gifts with others unless they were valued. Witness 1 says, "If you read 'The Rainbow Fish' backwards it becomes a beautiful archetype of the hero's journey, in which he receives precious gifts from his friends, meets a menacing octopus, and learns to live alone with his own uniqueness, as we all must in the end. Perhaps it is better read that way, anyway."

So, then, everyone, let us pay attention to the constant Satanic messages embedded in nearly every aspect of our society. While we do not have to be legalistic, we should be careful what messages we are allowing in our homes, especially to our children.

This is a simple post tonight, but I have a feeling people will like it. Later, I will talk more about Ayn Rand, and while I don't agree with all her viewpoints, she has some great novels. If you are feeling bored, a quick and easy read is "Anthem." It has some great philosophy, and it shows what has happened to the world.

Alright, everyone. I am not sure if I am writing on a Saturday. It is up to Jesus, but thanks for reading my writing!

With love,

Elisha aka Witness 2