Let Your Light Shine – 4 Practical Examples From Disney’s Tangled ✨

Hello, friends! I hope you’ve been enjoying the Tangled theme this month, which has been especially prevalent on Instagram. Rapunzel has always been the embodiment of “Let your light shine,” and I wanted to take some time to talk about that today. Enjoy!

What does it mean to let your light shine?

“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:14-16 CSB

One of the most commonly quoted Bible passages and sayings in the Christian community is “Let your light shine.” It’s been interpreted in a lot of different ways by a lot of different people. Here’s a commentary I trust with some excellent thoughts on this passage. But what does it mean to shine your light, every day, in ordinary moments?

Four practical examples of how to “let your light shine”

Thinking about this, I found four practical examples of how to live out the command to “Let your light shine” from Disney’s Tangled:

Be kind, always

Rapunzel is kind to everyone she encounters and is concerned when she meets someone who doesn’t get along with her. She sees past the surface-level hostility and ugliness and brings out the best in them by the way that she treats them. She does everything that she can to uplift and encourage and support the people around her.

And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

Ephesians 4:32

Seek and spread beauty

Rapunzel is known for her creativity and the endless number of habits that she cultivates even after leaving the tower. She is constantly creating and appreciating beautiful things every chance she gets.

When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and stars, which you have set in place,

What is a human being that you are mindful of him?

Yet you have made him little less than God

and crowned him with glory and honor.

Psalm 8:3-5

Something I love about these verses, and the way that Rapunzel seems to live them out, is the fact that appreciating and creating beauty gives all humans a sense of value and dignity in the eyes of God. It’s impossible not to see the people around you differently when you have an understanding of their inherent dignity and value in the eyes of the Creator.

Embrace discomfort

One of the most striking “let your light shine” moments in Disney’s Tangled is the Snuggly Duckling scene. Flynn/Eugene takes Rapunzel here hoping to intimidate her into leaving her dream behind, and she is afraid at first. But Rapunzel makes the decision to speak her heart, saying, “Hasn’t any one of you ever had a dream?!?” and ends up bringing out a side of the Ugly Duckling’s patronage that nobody expected, least of all Eugene. She turns a crowd of criminals, ruffians, and thugs into a band of singing idealists who willingly come to the rescue of Eugene in his moment of need. This scene shows that, when you’re willing to embrace discomfort, you can turn enemies to friends and change hearts for the sake of the Gospel.

while Paul was waiting for [Silas and Timothy] in Athens, he was deeply distressed when he saw that the city was full of idols… (so he went on to preach the truth to them at their invitation)

Acts 17:16, 17-34 (summary)

Resist evil and be true to good

The final piece I wanted to add to this list of practical ways to “let your light shine” is to resist evil and be true to good. For Rapunzel, this moment comes when she finally comes to the realization that the woman who raised her isn’t who she claimed to be. Rapunzel chooses to resist the gaslighting of Mother Gothel and stand up for herself, possibly for the first time. Then she adds to this by offering to sacrifice herself for the sake of Eugene’s safety. For us, this means having the wisdom to know what’s good and worth defending, and the courage to defend what we believe to be good.

Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.

Matthew 10:16

For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

Romans 16:19 ESV

I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of four practical ways to let your light shine from Disney’s Tangled. What other ways can you think of?

Happy fangirling!