Remember in Lion King when Simba was lured to the elephant graveyard by his own uncle, Scar, who he trusted? Basically, Simba’s father told him to stay away from the elephant graveyard but his uncle Scar led him there under the false pretense that it would be a good thing. But really it was a setup. Simba lied to his mother, went to the graveyard, only to meet three hyenas that were prepared to kill him.

The moral of the story is to be weary of anything or anyone that you have to hide from those who truly love you. I’ve had more than enough Simba moments to know that you always pay the price. I stress the word “have” because sometimes there are things we choose to keep from our loved ones for their own protection or because it hasn’t reached a stage where we can clearly explain it to them. For instance, when you first start dating a person or working on a new idea. But if you’ve been with someone for some time or you do something on a regular basis and no one who truly cares for you knows about it, that thing is probably going to cause you major trouble somewhere down the line.

This shouldn’t be confused with needing approval. Your loved ones don’t have to approve or necessarily like everything you do but if they don’t know and can’t know, then you should probably reconsider.

Sometimes we’re not even conscious of it; like a young child who gets isolated from his or her family by a predator using candy or promises to take them to a better place. Often times, we move away from love to harm because harm is disguised as something good. It’s one thing when you’re 4 or 5 and we can only pray that most young children won’t have to face such decisions, but as adults we all need to be aware enough and wise enough to know when we’re thrusting ourselves into danger and away from protection.

And for those who believe in God, if you have to hide it from God, you’re really screwed. God sees all.