Last month, I saw the Lion King musical at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. The costumes were creative (I wasn’t able to take photos) and overall, the show was fantastic!! I’m familiar with The Lion King (I’d seen the movie years ago), and it’s amazing to see how the storyline is similar to real life experiences. 

Mufasa had an evil brother, Scar, who was jealous of him and his son, Simba. On one occasion, Scar made a strange comment to Simba: “I wish you’d die!” but Simba just thought he was joking. This scene reminded me of how someone will say something to us in a sarcastic or joking way, but we may overlook it and not take it seriously. Now I’m not saying that everyone who makes jokes or is sarcastic has evil intentions; however, I believe that it depends on what the person says and how they say it. In some cases, a person may say something negative and try to disguise it as a joke. Proverbs 26:18-19 says: “Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death is one who deceives their neighbor and says, ‘I was only joking!’ (Bible App NIV).

Scar came up with a plan to have Mufasa and Simba killed so he could become king. He told Simba to wait in a particular location for a “surprise” and a few minutes later, Simba was almost trampled by a stampede of wildebeests. Mufasa saw that Simba was in danger and was able to rescue him, but then Mufasa was injured by the stampede of wildebeests. He was able to climb up a nearby mountain and saw his brother, Scar, who was watching everything. Mufasa pleaded for help, but Scar pushed him over the mountain, allowing Mufasa to fall to his death. 

When Simba found his father’s body and was mourning his death, Scar appeared and tried to make Simba think that he killed Mufasa (or was responsible for his death). Scar referred to it as an accident, and he promised he wouldn’t tell anyone; he told Simba to run away. I was appalled at Scar’s manipulation of this tragic and vulnerable moment, but after all, he desperately wanted to be king, and he was removing another “obstacle” (Simba) out of his way. Scar instilled fear into Simba but also acted as if he was “helping” Simba by telling him to run away.  This scene also reminded me of how the devil accuses people of different things to make them question their identity and to trick them into believing lies. Scar was a murderer and a liar just like the enemy. 

Simba met a couple of creatures—a warthog and a weasel—who introduced him to a new philosophy—Hakuna Matata, which means no worries. He eventually ran into his childhood friend, Nala, who convinced him to go back to his previous land to face Scar; Scar allowed the hyenas to take control of everything and as a result, no food was left. It’s interesting that Scar wanted to become the king so badly, but he didn’t have a clue on how to run things.

Simba ran into Rafiki, who convinced him to confront his past and confront Scar; I thought Rafiki was a baboon but according to The Lion King Wiki, Rafiki was a mandrill, which looks similar to a baboon (Fandom.com). In this performance, Rafiki was played by an actress with a beautiful voice; she started singing a song that included the words “he lives in you.” Rafiki was referring to Mufasa’s spirit living in Simba; the song made me think of how the spirit of Christ lives in us. She also told Simba to “have faith,” and I saw those words on the caption screen in the theater. Tears started flowing; it was a sweet reminder for me—to keep going, have faith, and not give up. It was also a reminder that God is still with me and still cares about me.

Towards the end of the show, Simba confronted Scar and Scar started acting afraid of Simba. He also confessed that he killed Mufasa and said he’d make it up to Simba. I just shook my head; how can you “fix” a murder?? What can you possibly do to make it up to someone if you took their relative’s life? Scar asked Simba to spare his life; Simba was going to spare his life, and he told Scar to run away. Scar tried to strike Simba, but Simba lunged at him, and Scar fell over the mountain to his death. I heard someone behind me clapping and I wondered if it was a little girl I saw earlier. Whoever it was, I was in total agreement. The end of the performance reminded me of justice being served. We may have enemies doing things to aggravate us, get us in trouble, etc. and they may think they’re getting away with what they’re doing. Psalm 7:16 says: “The trouble they cause recoils on them; their violence comes down on their own heads.” Psalm 18:47-48 also states that God will avenge us and He will save us from our enemies (Bible app NIV). You can’t do evil to others and think that it will not return to you.