Tasha Cobbs Leonard - Royalty Lyrics

Video

Tasha Cobbs Leonard - Royalty (Live At The Ryman, Nashville, TN/2020)

Meaning & Inspiration

Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s Royalty rests on a foundation that shifts dangerously between profound ontological truth and the modern tendency toward self-validation. When she sings, "Fearfully, wonderfully made in the image of Abba," she is anchoring the believer in Genesis 1:27. This is the bedrock. To exist in the Imago Dei is not a compliment; it is a declaration of purpose that precedes our own consciousness. We are not accidents; we are artifacts of a deliberate Creator.

However, the weight of the song begins to tilt when the lyrics pivot to, "I am Your favorite."

Theologically, this is where the listener must exercise caution. We love the intimacy of being known, but we must avoid domesticating the Almighty. If we are all "favorites," does the term retain any meaning? Or is this merely a linguistic crutch designed to soothe our insecurity in a culture obsessed with self-worth? The doctrine of election—that we are chosen by God—is a heavy, humbling reality. It implies that God has set His affection on us not because of some inherent quality in our makeup, but because of His sovereign grace. When we claim "favorite" status, we risk reducing the King of the Universe to a sentimental parent who plays favorites among the playground crowd. It feels good to hear, but it lacks the gravity of Romans 8:29, where our worth is inextricably linked to being "conformed to the image of his Son."

There is a significant tension here. On one hand, we are "a thought before life ever started," echoing the Psalmist’s admission that God’s thoughts toward us are more numerous than the sand. This speaks to the foreknowledge of God—a concept that should drive us to our knees in awe. Yet, the song’s insistence on "royalty" as an identity can easily bleed into a prosperity-adjacent narcissism if we aren't careful. Are we royalty because we have been bought with a price, or because we have convinced ourselves that the Creator of the cosmos exists to validate our personal projects?

When Cobbs Leonard sings, "Help me to see everything You see in me," the song reaches its most honest point. It is a prayer of humility, acknowledging that our current vision of ourselves is corrupted by the Fall. We often see ourselves through the lens of performance or shame. To ask God for His perspective is to ask for a sight that often hurts; it is to see the sin that still clings to us and the holiness we lack, alongside the dignity of being His creation.

The song leaves me unsettled. It skirts the edge of being dangerously thin—the "brush in the hands of an artist" metaphor is common, even bordering on cliché. But the underlying cry—the desperation to accept that our identity is purely derivative, belonging entirely to Him—is the only thing that saves it. We are not royalty because we have power; we are royalty because we are enslaved to a King who happens to be our Father. That is a distinction the listener needs to hold onto, lest they walk away thinking they are the protagonists of a story they are actually only inhabiting by the grace of another.