I had a post for the week but something else came up that I had to write about. So I was watching Lion King yesterday (after a long time). I think it’s my all-time favourite cartoon! Lots of lessons to learn from it! Well, yesterday I caught a part I had never really paid attention to.

Remember the part where young Simba had to stay with Timon and Pumbaa after his dad died? Well there was this part where he started eating slimy insects along with them. Then it hit me, Simba had completely lost his sense of identity. He didn’t remember He was a king. Clothed in lion skin, he had more or less the mind of a Meerkat and a Warthog.

pumbaa and simba
Photo Credit: Strangekidsclub.com

Pause. For those of you who haven’t seen the classic Disney cartoon, it’s a beautiful story about a kingdom where the Lion is the king (obviously) and His son (Simba) was to take over when he died. And yeah he (the father, Mufasa) was killed by his brother Scar who wanted to take over the kingdom. Simba blamed himself for the death of his father and ran into hiding and that’s where he made friends with the Meerkat and the Warthog (Timon and Pumbaa). Whew! I hope I described it well.

Okay, so here is a Lion growing up with a meerkat and a warthog and everything seems to be just fine. And he forgets who he is. Well, who wouldn’t want to let go of the memory of being the reason their father died. Until he is finally reminded of his identity by an old friend.

Now this reminds me of another story; the prodigal son in the Bible. This dude thinks he’s ‘all grown up’ and can fend for himself without his father’s help. He collects his inheritance (even when his dad hasn’t died). Apparently the phrase; ‘you’re dead to me’ was real to him. So he sets off to spend all his money in Las Vegas. And then he gets real broke. All his friends leave him and go on to the next big thing. Of all the jobs a guy can get, he settles for feeding pigs (not as if he had many choices- he probably dropped out of school so he couldn’t apply for real jobs) I digress. Yeah, when I say pigs, please don’t think of ‘Babe’ or any cute pig that lives in an exquisite home. This dude is feeding pigs! Gross animals that enjoy playing in the mud. As if that wasn’t enough, he begins to eat their food! Yuck! What’s it with eating unlikely foods? 

Pause.

Let’s do a quick checkup!

Have you lost your identity? Have you been rolling with a set of people who derail you from your destiny and purpose? Have you started eating meals which are not right for you? (By meals I mean values, habits, attitudes which you may be feeding on from the crew you’re now hanging out with).

Well, reality check!

  1. You are a child of light and you have no business rolling with the dark. (Ephesians 5:11)
  2. You are the child of God and that’s royalty! Stop living like a beggar on the street and go recover your identity in Christ! (1 Peter 2:9)
  3. You are destined to reign! *in Joseph Prince’s voice* 😉 (Romans 5:17)

Please cut off from every association that is not building you up. It takes a long time to build a mansion, but it takes a couple of hours and a little petrol to bring it down. Be mindful of your association. You can easily lose your identity by hanging out with the wrong crowd. Stick with people who remind you of your true identity. Remember, any one you call your friend is a reflection of your person. If you don’t wanna be a pig stop dining with one! Prov 27:17

Let’s conclude the prodigal son’s story; so he has the reality check (above) and decides to go back home. At least, he could be a servant in a tux and a bow tie, he thinks to himself.

Guess what? His dad welcomed him with open arms and threw a party for him! How cool is that? 😀

Tell you what, that’s the same thing our Heavenly Father would do for you when you return back to Him (which should be now, as tomorrow aint guaranteed- Prov 27:1)

Oh yeah, Simba gets reminded of his identity by a cute chic, Nala (women have awesome convincing powers though!) So he finally returns to take back the throne. Yay! Everyone is happy!

It is extremely important to keep friends that remind you of who you really are and encourage you to fulfill your destiny 🙂

So what are you waiting for? Go get back your identity in Christ!

Have a wonderful week!

Much love ❤ ❤

©Mfon Etuk, 2016

Daintym friends

42 thoughts on “Lion King; Identity Crisis”

  1. Great post! I loved The Lion King as a kid, but haven’t seen it in YEARS!
    Awesome comparison! The movie sort of serves as a parable, when you think about it. So true that it’s important to spend time with people who build you up. I’ve seen people completely change just because of who they’re hanging out with, and it’s always sad. It’s shocking to see how people can be so heavily influenced by others, even though it warns about that in the Bible. Good reminder to hold onto our identity in Christ! 🙂

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  3. Lovely piece sweery!……our lion king watching days,oh,lolz(great memories) , indeed,many times, we tend to forget who we really are(our identity) . As you’ve rightly said, may God help us to never forget who we are. Kudos to you dearie!

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  5. This is such a brilliant perspective of the movie! I never quite looked at it this way! I love how you told that story about the prodigal son! That is so true! 🙂

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  7. It’s funny, I just pictured Mufasa in the clouds saying “you have forgotten who you are, you have forgotten me”. Our identity is found in Christ. When we forget who we truly are, we also forget God.

    Wow, thanks for pointing this out Jay, I guess I might have to see it again to get more lessons.

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  16. God bless your Mind and your Good hands, This is another great work M.
    ❇IDENTITY CRISIS❇
    Nice of you to bring one of my best Animation to the memory again.
    The great One great Kingdom Principle The Children of the Kingdom are currently facing is what you just highlighted. Reading this great piece what happened in The Garden of Eden arose inside. There are most times when we lose our identity by the time we begin to evaluate or focus on what God has not done for us as or what He has told is not to do for the case of Eve but not also forgetting the role the devil had to play. Gen 3.1, Here the devil made Eve to close her mind to the majority that the Father had done for them. Likewise the prodigal son who looked outside the Father’s Kingdom and saw the so called freedom, enjoyments and choices that the children of the world were enjoying. The boy thought he has not been given enough like the others, he wants the big lives in Las Vegas as you said, wear the kind of shirts or attires he sees outside the kingdom. I once saw a gown which had an inscription which says “If you obey all the rules you’ll miss out on all the enjoyments.” When we begin to look outside the walls of our kingdom and desire the goodies from the outside Then we begin to loss our identity cos we don’t know who we are and whose we are. David in Psalm 73:1-20, 21-28 had similar issues in his life but thank God He understood quickly and came back to his senses. He’ll always throw the biggest party Heaven has ever seen Luke 15:23
    He doesn’t want us to loose our Identity but even when we do, He has a plan made already to bring us back. He most times allows us to make mistakes in order for us to allow Him lead us.
    He’s a loving Father . I pray we’ll never be so far from His Grace. Amen♣

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  17. Awesome as always! beautiful analogy. This truly helps to reflect on the kind of associations and relations we r in, also to be sure we r on the right track and not going down the drain. I pray ur writings will continue to be a source of inspiration and encouragement to this generation. maybe I might need to go check up “lion king” lol. cheers.

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  18. Wow how come I never saw it like that. Amazing taking us between two stories. I analysed Scar more as Pete edochie in Nollywood who would kill his brother to take over(sorry for the digression). I really enjoyed this, so many kings are rolling in the mud as pigs, so many princes are servants in the courts today. The devil has succeeded in blinding youths with the frivolities of the world, that we forget our Identities as Sons of God. It take the kinda bump on the head like simba got to be reminded, it’s never too layer to reconnect to ur Kingship. Thank you for this timely piece.

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    1. Thank God! LOL @ the Pete Edochie scene, I can totally see that! So true, the devil is tryna blind us all with the frivolities of the world. But thanks be to Christ, in whom we find our identity! Thanks Sesan! 🙂

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  19. So cool. I love that movie. Definitely one of my all-time faves. I love the lessons from it and you pulled one of the best ones out. Great reminder. Thanks heaps for sharing!

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