I have had a couple of experiences in the last couple of months that got my little brain going. In the first one, I met an individual that I didn't really know and my "mask" popped off and my brokenness was revealed. I was shocked. How did that happen? And I realized that we only remember that we are wearing a mask, when it gets removed and our authentic self is exposed. We fall into the horrible trap of believing that this mask is who we are! This rattled me. Being that exposed is not a comfortable feeling. The other experience involved one of my FB friends that posted an authentic picture - no mask - and the soul that was revealed had a powerful effect on me.
Masks. We all wear them. Different masks for different people. Society demands that we wear a mask. Peer pressure and political correctness forces us to wear our masks. We wear masks to hide what we perceive to be our weaknesses or our ugly parts. But is this right? I'm a Christian so I look to Christ for answers. We often get so wrapped up in His Word, that we forget that actions speak louder than words....so what did Christ's actions say?
Did Christ wear a mask? Did He ever pretend to be something He was not? Did He wear a mask in the Garden of Gethsemane when He expressed His anguish? Did He wear a mask when He threw the tables in the temple over in anger? And in Luke 19:41, did He wear a mask when He wept over Jerusalem? No. Christ was authentic and true to who He was.
He actually condemned people who wore masks. Matthew 23:25..."Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." Their "clean" masks didn't fool Him. Do you think that when you die, you will be congratulated on the beautiful mask you made for yourself while in this realm?
No. Matthew 7 beginning at verse 22...On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
God wants us to behave in a holy manner but He wants that behavior to flow from the heart. He wants it to be genuine. When we craft a mask for the world to see how "holy" we are, do we really think we're fooling God? I think not. Luke 12:2 "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." The masks get torn off.
Our masks are a lie and lies have no power. We need to support this lie to make it appear real. So how do we do that? Judgment and hypocrisy. All that can flow from our mask is judgment and hypocrisy. When we judge others, it is our attempt at justifying the mask we wear. Matthew 7:5 ...You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. I challenge you to look at how many times the Bible addresses hypocrisy and judgment and see for yourself how the underlying cause is our mask. The playing field is level in that ALL have fallen short of the glory of God. Regardless of what our masks would have us believe.
So why do we wear masks? They must serve a purpose or we wouldn't do it. I think the main reason is acceptance. But what does the Bible say about this? "You are in the world but not OF the world." Matthew 5:13 WARNS us about wearing a mask. ""You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." We lose our saltiness when we wear a mask to conform to the world for the sake of acceptance. Conformity to this world demands that we wear masks. But have we forgotten that Satan is the ruler of this world? Do we want to conform to his will?
John 15:18 says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." Why did the world hate Christ? Because He tore the masks off. He refused to honor their lie. He exposed the truth.
Many of us fail to grasp the fullness of the Gospel because we get so lost in our masks we think the Word applies to our mask and it does not. It applies to the genuine self in all of its weakness and ugliness. God loves us AS WE ARE....not as we perceive ourselves to be. God does NOT love our mask...He loves us. And therein lies the power of knowing God's love. Right there. When you turn your face to Him to pray, it is NOT your mask that He sees...it is your heart.
