When the film The Lion King was released in 1994, children all over the world sang along with Timon and Pumbaa (a meerkat and a warthog) and their “problem-free philosophy.” The pair taught us that “Hakuna Matata” meant “no worries.” It was their way of encouraging young Simba, who has just lost his father. The Lion King is not a Christian film, but the Teacher would agree at least in part with their basic philosophy.

We should enjoy the life God has given us! In Ecclesiastes 3, the Teacher laments (again) that there is no gain, or ultimate reward, from “toil,” or work (v. 9). Why? Because work doesn’t ultimately produce anything that lasts—all that it accomplishes is “meaningless” or gone too soon. But we should not descend into pessimistic nihilism or withdraw from work. Rather, we are to “be happy and to do good while [we] live,” and further to “eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all [our] toil” (v. 13). These things are “the gift of God.”

So, Hakuna Matata! Yes, but even more, the Teacher is telling us to realign our priorities and expectations. These daily activities God has given us (working, eating, and drinking) are gifts for our enjoyment. They were never meant to give us what only God can give us purpose, meaning, fulfillment, security, and hope. Rather, they are ephemeral experiences, temporal gifts from our good Father. God actually does want us to be happy—and that requires us to return, in a sense, to the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve enjoyed intimacy with God and an appropriate relationship with the gifts He gives: working, eating, and drinking.

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