“Hakuna Matata, these two words will solve all of your problems.”- Pumbaa “This is the great life, no rules, no responsibilities, and best of all, no worries.”-Timon.
At the age of 25, I have come to the realization that I have unwittingly become a disciple of Timon and Pumbaa. Their life motto “Hakuna Matata” (meaning “no worries”) is a philosophy that pursues personal pleasure, avoids responsibility, and denies the hurt that one experiences. The song is catchy and the sentiment seems nice, but when we examine it deeper we see how sad this lifestyle really is. I will give examples of how this philosophy falls short in The Lion King, the ways in which I have adopted an ‘hakuna matata’ lifestyle, and why I need a better philosophy for my life.
Timon told a grieving Simba, “When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world.” Simba just experienced a traumatic event. He saw his father killed right before his eyes. He felt the sadness of losing his father. He felt guilty because he thought he was responsible for his father’s death. He felt ashamed to face his tribe. He was afraid because he was all alone in the desert. In the midst of all this pain and trauma, this lion cub is taught “just don’t worry!” “Forget about it.” In order to embrace hakuna matata, Simba lost himself. He was royalty. He had aspiration of being king. He had family, friends, and a kingdom who needed him. He gave all that up to be “happy” and comfortable. Simba needed to process his grief and move to a place of acceptance. Instead he buried the hurt.
And what about Pumbaa? He was lonely. He had no friends because of his stench. His heart longed for companionship (which is how God wired us). He experienced the agony of rejection. He felt ashamed and unloved. Granted, he found a good friend in Timon, but he also had to pretend that the rejection didn’t bother him. I want to be careful here because I know most people are overly concerned with being liked and what people think of them. I know it would behoove many to care less about what others think of you, and care more about what you and God think of you. Why do we sacrifice ourselves to please those who can’t affect our inherent worth? However, the pain of rejection is real. I think it is important to process that pain. In doing so you can understand why their approval can’t satisfy you, rather than pretending you aren’t hurting.
As I write these words I kinda feel like a hypocrite because I follow Timon and Pumbaa’s teaching all the time. Over the past couple months I have become increasingly aware that I am out of touch with my emotions. I am capable of empathizing with others and experiencing their feelings, but it is much more difficult for me to feel my own. My personality type is a 9 on the Enneagram, which means my core desire is for inner stability and peace of mind. Essentially, my default setting is to be unaffected by the negativity of the world around me (or inside of me). I rarely let myself feel sad. Not much makes me angry. I don’t get excited about much. I hardly ever miss people. I don’t know the last time I felt genuinely hopeful. When I start to feel painful emotions, I’ll lose myself in a Netflix series, a novel, food, social media, video games, sports, ministry, being successful, etc. Basically anything to numb the pain. Hakuna matata. According to Dr. Chip Dodd, “Whenever you don’t feel, you are blocked from living life to the fullest. Wherever you lack awareness of your heart, no room exists for God.”
The problem is that I try to construct a fake, comfortable world rather than being an active participant in the real world that God created. There is real pain in this world. Terrible injustices. Loss and loneliness. Depression. In an attempt to protect myself from the pain that inevitably comes in this broken world, I cut myself off from my own heart, genuine relationships with others, and, ultimately, with God. But I believe there is a better way.
When God the Father saw the brokenness of this world, thankfully he didn’t say ‘hakuna matata’. (What type of God would be indifferent to wickedness and injustice?) Rather, the bible teaches that Jesus left the comforts of heaven in order to live among hurting, burdened, and sinful people. He experienced loss of loved ones. He felt the pain of the sick, disabled, and rejected. He was misunderstood by his family. He experienced the cruelest form of injustice by being nailed to a cross when he committed no wrong. Jesus went through all of that so that sinful people might have a restored relationship with God through faith. His death and resurrection started the process of reconciling “everything to himself by making peace through the blood of the cross– whether things on earth or things in heaven” (Col 1:20). Jesus cares deeply about the pains of the world, especially in his Church (1 Pet 5:7). He gave believers his Holy Spirit to empower us to love others truly, care deeply, and hope and rejoice when the world is falling apart around us.
We can either choose the path of love or the path of indifference. Engage the reality of the world, or hakuna matata. Which will you choose?
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”- C.S. Lewis
To learn more about emotions, click here.