For Joel Smallbone—one half of worship duo For King & Country—the new movie Priceless proclaims one of his greatest causes in life and ministry: honoring women. Smallbone grew up in a stable home, and he says his father always modeled what it meant to be a man of integrity. Many others are not so fortunate.
“As (my brother Luke and I) got older and started experiencing life and started looking around, we realized culturally there’s a lot of mixed messaging going on—messaging to both women and men that would lead particularly a younger generation to believe there were certain criteria for relationships or certain expectations that a man should have or (ways) a woman should interact in relationships,” Smallbone says.
LISTEN: Priceless with Luke Smallbone
“You find it in billboards and magazines and pop culture, this idea that a woman is almost an object, and to men, that it’s all about physicality and sensuality. The younger generation is facing it in a way no other generation has faced it.”
To combat this false ideology, Smallbone encourages chivalry, respect and honor among young men. Last year, For King & Country released the single “Priceless.” And later this year, the Smallbone brothers are releasing a feature film by the same name to challenge viewers to demonstrate sacrificial love and lay down their lives for others.
“Luke and I have been anxious to write a song on this subject for years, but it’s eluded us,” Smallbone says. “It feels like it’s become bigger than the band. This message has become in some ways a mantra for the band. This year is really the year of Priceless: the movie, the song and the movement. We’re really thrilled and excited to see how, as we step forward, women are uplifted and impacted, and men are challenged to stand up and stand out.”
