St. George, the princess and the Dragon
Posted on 23 Jun 2026
Category: discipleship, fiction, leadership
Author: Barney Barnes
"Somewhere perhaps there is trouble and fear", thinks the brave knight Sir George, as he mounts his mighty steed before riding out of the castle early one morning. Such was the course set by his morally ambitious consciousness, habitually searching to aid others. My kind of guy! One can easily transpose the picture of battle-ready armed forces personnel or first-responder personnel onto this early morning scene. However, there are many of these morally ambitious consciousness type "knights" among us in the form of coaches, teachers, pastors, neighbors, and especially parents and grandparents. Perhaps you are one of them.
And so, our story unfolds that long ago when knights lived in the land, there was one knight whose name was Sir George. He was not only braver than all the rest, but he was so noble, kind, and good that the people came to greatly admire and trust him and call him St. George.
Because of St. George's influence, thieves or other criminals never dared to trouble the people in the nearby village and the perineal crime rate was zero. The wild animals had been killed or driven away so the little children could even play in the nearby forest without fear. One day, as St. George rode out into the village area, he noted that all was so very normal. The men were busy working in the fields, the women were singing as they worked around their homesites, and there were the joyful sounds of children playing.
St. George thought to himself as he rode along, "These people are all safe and happy and they do not need my protection anymore. But somewhere perhaps there is trouble and fear, where little children cannot play in safety. Maybe a woman has been carried away from her home---perhaps there are even dragons left to be slain. Tomorrow I shall ride away and not stop until I find work that only a knight can do".
Early the next morning when the draw bridge opens, St. George is mounted on his great stead with full shining armor, sword on his side and sitting straight, tall, and strong like a knight should look. As he rides toward the village the peace and tranquility of village life and an abundance of rich fields with wavy grain are again acknowledged. So, on and on he rides looking for work that "only a knight can do".
Later on, as he enters a new area, there are no men in the fields which are scorched and bare, and there are no women singing or children playing. In fact, the houses are empty and all is silence and desolation. St. George thought, "I must find out what dreadful thing has driven all these people from their homes---I must find out and see if I can help."
He rode on and soon spotted the walls of a city and thought, "here I can find some answers". As he approached the walls a great gate opened, and he could see crowds of people standing inside. Some were weeping and all seemed afraid. Then he noticed a beautiful maiden dressed in white, with a girdle of scarlet about her waist coming out the gate alone. The great gate then slammed shut and the maiden walked down the road weeping bitterly. She did not notice St. George who then rode quickly to her side.
Sitting straight and tall St. George ask, "Maiden, why do you weep?" She said, "Oh sir knight, ride quickly from this place, you are in great danger." "Danger? do you think a knight would flee from danger? Besides you are a fair maiden and here alone, tell me your trouble so that I may help you." The maiden replied, "No!...You will only lose your life. There is a terrible dragon near, and he may come at any moment! One breath would destroy you...Go! Go quickly!"
"Tell me more of this", he said sternly. "Why are you here alone to meet this dragon...are there no men in the city? "Oh, my father is the king, but he is old and feeble and only has me to help him take care of his people. This terrible dragon has driven them from their homes, killed their animals and ruined their crops. They have all come within the walls of the city for safety. For weeks now the dragon has come to the gates of the city, and we have been forced to give the dragon 2 sheep each day for breakfast. So now there are no more sheep and the dragon asked for a maiden, or he would break down the walls and destroy the city."
The people cried to the king to save them, but he could do nothing. So, the maiden was offering herself to appease the dragon and said, "perhaps if he has me, the Princess, he may spare our people." St. George responded, "lead the way, brave princess, show me where this monster may be found." {This part always reminds me of the powerful truths in John 10:10 and 1 John 3:8}
What John Eldredge calls the three longings of the masculine heart now came front and center to our brave knight, much as they will to the Christian man in 2026 confronting fire breathing dragons: (1) an adventure to live that requires something of us, that involves risk and a test of our abilities; (2) a battle to fight for a meaningful cause, a challenge that we can throw our strength and courage behind; (3) a beauty to rescue...yes! That's what we men were made for...slaying dragons to save "the beauty". That "beauty", of course is our wives, our families, our faith, our relationships, our freedom,...and all that we hold dear!
When the princess saw St. George's flashing eyes and great strong arm as he drew forth his sword...she felt afraid no more. Turning, she led the way to a shining pool where the dragon stayed. So, as you might imagine, our brave knight arouses the dragon and there is a horrendous battle that immediately breaks out with this fire-breathing dragon. As you might also imagine, it does not end well for the evil dragon. St. George drags the dragon's carcass back to the walls of the city to show everyone that their fear had been eradicated.
In 2026 there remain a few dragons in the land whose favorite breakfast meal is lamb. We men must be faithful to come out of our castle and be aware of dragon activity in our village, in our area of responsibility. These predator dragons must be slain. As men, we can sometimes be distracted and become too comfortable with our position in life. In so doing we often set aside our primary purpose in life of representing our King in all that we do. In an actual combat unit, I was trained to become comfortable being uncomfortable. Such a posture causes a certain level of response action, like 1 Peter 5:8-9 advises, to be possible. Such action often takes us out of our comfort zone and immediately into our growth zone where dragons can be slain, and sheep can be saved.
Barney Barnes, 06-19-2026, Former Promise Keepers National Ambassador for the Military and Prisons