What Can We Learn From The Wizard of Oz?

by Barbara Latta

“There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home,” Dorothy chanted as she tapped the heels of the ruby slippers together.

Ruby Slippers displayed at Smithsonian

The Wizard of Oz is familiar to all ages and has been broadcast year after year on television to millions of viewers. What can we learn from Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion?

They were all asking the wizard for something they already had.

• At the beginning of the story, Dorothy runs away from home, but her one desire throughout the movie is to find a way to get back. Her dream of being over the rainbow became a nightmare when she discovered she was in a strange place.
• The Scarecrow wanted a brain, but every time a problem arose for the group, he was the one who figured out a solution.
• The Tin Man’s desire was for a heart, yet his compassion arose time and again when someone was hurting. His tears caused him to rust and the oilcan had to come out to loosen his joints.
• Cowardly Lion shook in his paws when facing the Wizard for the first time, yet marched into the wicked witch’s castle to rescue Dorothy.

All these characters asked the Wizard of Oz for something he couldn’t give them.

Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow

Why? Because they already had what they were asking for. He merely awarded them with tokens to help them discover the hidden treasures inside them.

Dorothy had to find out she already had the means to get home with her all the time. Glenda, the witch of the north, had to reveal to Dorothy the power of the ruby slippers. All Dorothy had to do was tap and ask.

How many times do we go to God begging and pleading for Him to answer a prayer He has already provided the answer to?

Jesus death and resurrection defeated the power of the devil. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8).

As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue (I Peter 1:3).

Knowing the truth sets us free

Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed (I Peter 2:24).

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:24-25).

This is where renewing our minds comes in (Romans 12:1-2). The more Word goes into us, the more revelation we have about what God has given us through Christ. We find out we already have inside us what we are asking God to give us.

Dorothy tapped her heels and said “there’s no place like home.” When our emotions rise up and tell us lies, all we have to do is tap into the Word and say “I believe.”

Join the conversation and share your thoughts.