Lessons Learned from Downton Abbey

February 23, 2022 by  
Filed under Christian Life, Family Focus

Diane Mayfield –

I’m obsessed with Downton Abbey. I cannot get my mind off it. While I was sick, I watched Seasons I, II, and even III, non-stop. I love the clothes, the glamour, and the big house. I love the downstairs drama and the upstairs drama. I think about the characters constantly. I’m even having conversations with them in my dreams.

For those who are not familiar with the English drama presented by Masterpiece theatre, here’s a short summary. Downton Abbey, located just outside London, is the inherited estate of Lord and Lady Grantham and their three adult daughters. It has been in the family for generations. The story revolves around the lives of the upstairs aristocratic Grantham’s and the downstairs family of servants that care for them and the home. I hate to admit it, but I long to be part of the aristocracy.

Finally, I had to confess to Jesus my obsession. It was actually interfering with my conversations with Him. I just had to get it all out on the table. It seems so wrong to be focused on such worldly, temporary concerns, and to want a life of elitism. This is what He showed me.

After my confession, in His forever-gentle way, He helped me to see what eternal value I could glean from my obsession with this show.

In Jesus, I am an aristocrat. I am the daughter of a king and not just any king, the King of Kings. He has built a place for me, a mansion, just like Downton Abbey is a mansion. Lord Grantham didn’t gain Downton Abbey by his own hard work. He was born into it and inherited it. I too will inherit my eternal home not by works but by faith in the blood of my Lord.

My pastor even drove this home yesterday when speaking about who we were created to be in the beginning. According to him, we were created “kings of the earth, to rule over all God’s creation” until Adam made a wrong choice, ate from the apple and sin entered the world. Now we live on this earth as tillers of the soil and not kings and queens, not yet anyway.

At one point in the show, Lord Grantham says how he views his responsibilities as the Lord of the Manor. He is the custodian of Downton Abbey. His job is to care for it and provide for those who depend upon it for their livelihood. I too am a custodian of all I have been given, which includes spiritual gifts and talents as well as material blessings. Most importantly, I am a vessel of God’s love and grace, a reflection of His image on earth. I have a responsibility to pass all this on to those God has entrusted to my care and whomever He brings into my life.

So, there’s no need for lusting or obsessing about this show. Instead, it is a vision of who I am in Jesus and a picture of where I will be for all eternity, serving my King in the place He prepares for me.

There is one aspect of the show that I am ashamed I don’t long for. I’m not lusting for the downstairs life of the servants. Their clothes are simple, their rooms are sparse, and their lives are not their own. They live to serve the upstairs family. They show deep respect for the aristocracy and acceptance of their position in life. I can certainly learn from such devotion.

The next time I sit down to watch this masterful production, hopefully my focus won’t just be on the promise of the Downton Abbey to come, but also on the servant’s heart demonstrated by the downstairs people. After all, my Lord did come to serve and not be served.

God, help me to be as you are, to focus on serving others while hoping for the promise of what’s to come.

About Diane Mayfield

Diane, a follower of Jesus, has a Bachelor of Journalism Degree, a Master’s Degree in Education with a specialty in counseling and is a Certified Coach. Married for 35 years and after raising three children, she returns to one of her first loves-writing.
  • Advertisement

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!


Prove You\'re Human: *