The Lion King
The past hurts. But the way I see it you can either run from it or learn from it. – Rafiki
The wicked person fled when no one was pursuing, but the righteous person can be as confident as a lion – Proverbs 28:1
Some movies are not designed for young eyes. Likewise, many movies designed for children are almost unwatchable for more mature audiences. But there are rare cases of films that can appeal to all age groups. Even rarer are those that grow more appreciable, more meaningful with time. Rewatching The Lion King I couldn’t help but be struck by the power of its message. I could not tell you how many times I have watched The Lion King growing up. But watching it as a grown man, I think its significance hits even harder.
At the beginning of the story, we are met with a truism. “Life’s not fair, is it?” bemoans Scar. He mopes around as the discarded brother of the king, whose prospects of royal authority are diminishing with the birth of Simba, the rightful heir to the throne. Instead of taking accountability for his own life, or even choosing to be content with the good he has, Scar blames the world for his problems. If only his life had broken a different direction, he would be king and all his problems would be solved. As a pastor I see too often the effects of this kind of thinking. Why is my life in shambles? It’s my parent’s fault. It’s my spouse’s fault. It’s my boss’s fault. It’s the government’s fault. The failure of my life could never be my fault (Genesis 3:12-13). This mindset is a dangerous place to live because it breeds discontent, cruelty, and malice. It reflects our fallen nature and it’s the motivation of every story’s villain, even our own.
The villain of this story puts his manipulative intellect to work. When Simba rolls around Scar acts like he has his nephew’s best interest in mind. He suggests that the future king should show his bravery by exploring the elephant graveyard, in direct disobedience to his father, King Mufasa. Scar preys on Simba’s immaturity. Like many boys, Simba can’t wait for the payoff of growing up, but doesn’t understand the responsibilities that come with it. He suffers from a similar character flaw as Scar. When he and Nala sneak out past the borders of the kingdom, he confesses the appeal of doing something he knows might get him in trouble.[1] But when trouble comes, he realizes he’s in way over his head. Luckily for him, his dad is able to rescue him from further, more permanent consequences.
This is Simba’s first lesson in taking responsibility and not running from mistakes. A king must take ownership of his choices, especially the mistakes. Mufasa explains that the great kings of the past are in the stars. They not only watch, but help motivate along the journey. For the Christian we too are “surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, [so] we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance” (Hebrews 12:1). The company you keep will either help you take responsibility for your actions and move forward or further enable wallowing in self-pity and blame-shifting. Scar exclaims that he is “surrounded by idiots.” He seems unaware that his situation is self-inflicted. For “the one who associates with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).
Surrounded by those who empower his malicious intent, Scar lays a trap for Mufasa and Simba. The young lion is caught in the valley during a wildebeest stampede. Mufasa rushes to save him, and Scar takes his opportunity to eliminate his opposition to the throne. In Simba’s grief Scar plants the seeds of guilt. “If it weren’t for you, he’d still be alive.” Simba assumes that the death of his father is his fault as he was the reason Mufasa braved the stampede. Even though its unwarranted, the feelings of shame and guilt are too much for Simba to face. Instead of facing his problems he chooses to run away. The tactics of Scar are the same as those we face in our story. Guilt and shame make us want to give up, as if the fight has already been lost. Can I really face the consequences of my mistakes and come out the other side?
In his quest to escape his old life, Simba finds an unlikely duo who shows an interest in having a strong lion around to protect them. A meerkat (Timon) and a warthog (Pumba) suggest to Simba that the solution to his problems is simply to forget about them. If you don’t think about your problems, then you never have to worry about them. If you avoid your problems, maybe they will just go away. Maybe they will just fade into memory. It seems like good advice, especially when you have a catchy musical number to go with it. It promises no worries for the rest of your days. The world often has the same pacifying guidance, because it has nothing else to offer. It has no better way of dealing with sin and shame and guilt. Maybe if we just act like the problem isn’t there, then it will just go away on its own. The difficulty is, even though we can run away from everything else, we cannot run away from ourselves. You still have to live with yourself. And you can only lie to yourself so long.
While Simba does his best to forget his past, it always seems to sneak up on him. When his childhood friend Nala arrives trying to look for food on the outskirts of the pride-lands, Simba can no longer just ignore the problem. His home has become a wasteland under the reign of Scar. Where there is no true king, chaos reigns (Psalm 99:4). Simba wants to keep lying to himself so that he does not have to face his past, or worse, make an even greater mistake trying.
Shame has clouded Simba’s vision of who he is. Rafiki asks him, “Who are you?” “I thought I knew,” Simba answers, “but now I’m not so sure.” Appealing to his father’s promise Rafiki points him to the stars whereby Mufasa reminds his son, “You have forgotten who you are. You are more than what you have become.”
This is a great message for all of as we travel this path unwinding. Who I am is ultimately not up to me. And it’s a good thing it’s not, because I often define myself like Simba, by my mistakes. The Bible makes clear two defining features of all human beings: 1) We are all fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:14-15) and 2) We are all someone that Jesus died for (1 John 2:2). We are more than what we’ve become. We are sinners in rebellion to a holy God, but by the grace of God we can be who we’ve forgotten we are. We are loved by our Creator and can be reconciled to him through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Are we willing to stop running away from our sin?
Simba is finally willing. Instead of running from his past, he chooses to learn from it and take hold of the responsibilities he relinquished. By facing Scar, he is really facing himself. The showdown at Pride Rock is less about him dethroning Scar than it is about Simba confessing to himself and his family that he avoided his responsibilities and avoided accountability. He has remembered who he is and now he is prepared to take on a king’s obligation, even if Scar is unwilling to relinquish it.
Are we willing to face our own guilt? Guilt is not just a feeling in the pit of our stomachs when we do something distasteful. It is much more than just an uncomfortable disposition that I can ignore at my convenience. Guilt is an objective reality of wrongdoing that is true of all of us (Romans 3:23). I stand guilty before a holy God because I have done wrong, lots of wrong, against a morally perfect Creator, the very standard of goodness. We are all called to take that first step of accountability and confess that truth. But you are more than what you have become. And God wants to make that happen in you.
“Run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). All of us are runners whether we like it or not.[2] Running from something is always running to something else. Simba ran away from his past, ran away from his problems. But he also chose to run to confront them, run to take his rightful place. What are you running from? What are you running to? I suggest, like Simba, you stop running from your past and learn from it. “Strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Remember who you are.
Should I Watch This Movie? – Only if you want to be moved to action by one of the greatest animated films of all time. And only if you are prepared to have catchy songs stuck in your head for days.
Should This Movie Be in the Top 250? – Undoubtedly, unequivocally, and unabashedly yes.
[1] A very famous church father, Augustine, vividly portrayed this truth with a story from his adolescence. He told of a time when he was out with friends, and they decided to steal pears from a nearby orchard. He recalled that he did not steal them because he was hungry, or that he even wanted to eat them at all. There was no earthly reason for stealing the pears other than that he wanted to do something that he knew was wrong. This began the slow realization in Augustine’s life that the problems he faced in the world were not external, but from within. His heart was the problem that needed to be fixed. (Confessions, Book III).
[2] I have a love-hate relationship with running, so I get it if you are put off by my analogy. The metaphor of running is just too apparent in the story to leave alone, however.