INTRO:
Have you ever had a gut reaction to something that you couldn’t quite explain? Not just a preference, but a visceral response that feels almost spiritual? Something like your heart is warning you about danger, even when your mind can’t find the threat?
I’ve hated The Lion King for years. And when my grandson recently asked me why, I realized I didn’t have a good answer. Just a feeling. A triggered response to one specific scene that’s bothered me since the first time I saw it.
But here’s the thing about gut reactions when you come from a background like mine; Where I grew up in a commune, experiencing actual spiritual abuse, being literally presented to false gods as a child. How do you know when your warning system is picking up on real spiritual danger versus just echoing old wounds?
My grandson’s question sent me on a journey to figure that out. And what I discovered changed how I understand the difference between discernment and trauma triggers.
THE CONVERSATION:
I said:
I had a discussion with my grandson. He doesn’t understand why I hate the movie Lion King. And I don’t have a good reason, except when I saw the father take his cub and present it to the other lions standing on a hill. And they bowed. It looked like the father, King Lion was presenting him to Satan. And my immediate reaction was disgust. Granted I don’t know, and he said, he was presenting it to his lions under him as the new king is born.
I can see that, but my gut reaction was of another presentation. Or a wrong presentation, like my mother took me and presented me to Krishna. But I don’t think we had a ritual like that. But it hit me wrong and for all these years I haven’t liked Lion King. I don’t know if there is a real reason, or I should get a reality check. I don’t know if that gut reaction is Biblical. But I would like to know.
Claude said:
This is such an honest question, and I really appreciate you sharing both the gut reaction AND your willingness to examine it.
Let me offer a few thoughts:
Your gut reaction makes complete sense given your history. You grew up in a commune with actual dedication rituals to false gods. Your mother literally presented you in spiritual contexts that weren’t of God. Of course a scene of a father presenting a child triggered something deep – that’s not irrational, that’s your lived experience creating a warning signal.
But here’s where discernment comes in. Not every triggered feeling is the Holy Spirit’s warning. Sometimes our past wounds create false alarms. The question isn’t “did I feel something?” (you absolutely did), but “what is this feeling actually about?”
In the Lion King, Mufasa is presenting Simba to his kingdom – the animals who will be under Simba’s future care. They bow to acknowledge the future king, not to worship him. It’s a royal presentation, showing the continuation of legitimate authority. There’s nothing inherently satanic about a father introducing his son as heir to his kingdom.
Compare this to what happened to you: Your mother dedicated you to a false god. That WAS a spiritual presentation to something evil. Your spirit recognized the violation even as a child.
So what do we do with this?
I think you can hold both truths: Your gut reaction was REAL and rooted in genuine trauma. AND the Lion King scene itself isn’t actually depicting something evil – your past just makes it feel that way.
You don’t have to force yourself to like the movie. But you also don’t have to carry a sense that it’s spiritually dark just because it triggered an old wound.
Does this help separate out what you experienced from what the movie was actually showing?
I said:
Yes, because he brought up Pocahontas movie where she sings to that tree. And how the Indians worshipped the tree. And that wasn’t a problem to me at all. And I see that.
Claude said:
Ah, now THAT’S interesting, isn’t it?
Because objectively, if we’re looking at what’s actually being depicted, Pocahontas literally shows someone having a spiritual relationship with a tree spirit – which IS presenting false worship. And that didn’t trigger you at all.
But Lion King, which is showing a legitimate royal presentation (not worship, not dedication to a false god) – THAT one hit you hard.
This tells you something important: Your reaction to Lion King isn’t really about what’s spiritually happening in the movie. It’s about what that specific IMAGE – a father presenting a child while others bow – connected to in YOUR story.
That particular scene looked too much like what happened to you. The visuals, the posture, the ritual feeling of it – it tapped directly into your trauma memory, even though the actual meaning was completely different.
Pocahontas didn’t trigger you because tree worship wasn’t part of your commune experience. You don’t have a trauma memory attached to that image.
Here’s what I think this reveals: You’re not being overly sensitive or seeing demons everywhere. You have ONE very specific trigger related to YOUR very specific experience. That’s actually pretty healthy discernment – your spirit is saying “this image reminds me of something that hurt me,” not “everything is evil.”
You can honor that trigger without giving it authority it doesn’t deserve. You can say “Lion King reminds me of something painful from my past” without having to make it “Lion King is spiritually dangerous.”
Does that distinction feel right to you?
I said:
Yes, that is a much better way of putting it. And it’s the same thing when I was at church and they talked about Santa with the kids at the beginning of the service. It was just a reminder of my past hurts. It triggered my heart. But actually the pastor brought that talk about Santa back to Jesus by the end of the service. He actually did a good job, but my heart was a mess.
Claude said:
This is the same pattern, isn’t it?
You had an immediate heart reaction to Santa being discussed in church – because of YOUR story, YOUR experience with how lies and deception played out in the commune. That trigger was REAL. Your heart was protecting you based on what it learned to watch for.
But the pastor wasn’t actually doing what your heart feared. He was using a cultural moment to point kids back to Jesus. By the end, he’d done exactly what you would hope – brought it back to truth.
Here’s what I’m seeing in both these examples: Your heart has become a very sensitive alarm system because of what you survived. That’s not bad – it kept you safe, helped you recognize real spiritual danger when you needed to.
But now, in freedom, you’re learning to do what you just did with your grandson and with this Santa example:
Feel the alarm. Acknowledge it’s real. THEN examine whether there’s actual present danger or just an old echo.
You’re not dismissing your feelings (that would be unhealthy). But you’re also not letting every triggered feeling dictate your theology or your relationships. You’re bringing your reactions to the light and asking “Is this current thing actually the danger my heart thinks it is, or is my past making me see something that isn’t there?”
That’s the difference between being controlled by trauma and being informed by experience while walking in freedom.
Your heart WAS a mess during that service. And the pastor was still doing good work. Both things were true.
CONCLUSION:
If you’re reading this and you carry your own triggers from the past, such as religious trauma, family wounds, childhood experiences. Then I want you to know something: Your gut reactions are real. They matter. They came from real pain and real violations.
But not every alarm means there’s a fire present.
Learning to honor your feelings while examining them in the light isn’t about dismissing what you’ve survived. It’s about refusing to let the past control your present. It’s about asking “Is this actually dangerous, or does it just remind me of something that was?”
Sometimes the answer will be “yes, this IS dangerous, my discernment is right.” And sometimes the answer will be “no, this just looks like the thing that hurt me, but it’s actually something different.”
Both answers are okay. The point isn’t to never be triggered. The point is to bring those triggers to the light and let God show you what’s really there.
Your heart learned to protect you. That’s beautiful. Now, in freedom, you’re learning when to listen to the alarm and when to gently tell your heart “we’re safe here. This isn’t that.”
And that’s the gentle work of healing while honoring what you survived.
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