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It is nearing the end of October. The leaves are looking more and more beautiful every day and fall festivals are just around the corner. I say fall festivals because Halloween is a day that causes division in the Christian community, but no matter what you think about the 31st, it is still a festive time of year. Around your house you might do the trick-or-treat thing or spend time going to trunk-or-treats or maybe even both, but the common thing that happens is kids dress up.
Kids love to play make-believe. They put on some kind of costume or mask and become something they aren’t. One of our favorite pictures from past fall celebrations is of Darby from middle school when she dressed up as Zombie Mickey. Dad worked hard to help her get that look just right, and she’s always loved acting, so that was perfect. Don’t get too scared by the picture below; it’s all just make-believe.
As we get older and supposedly mature, that feeling of wanting to be something we aren’t or hiding our identity sticks around. We live in a society that promotes masks. With facing the possibility of cancel culture or offending someone, we are trained to hide who we really are. In many ways it seems as the most prominent part of the candy-acquiring holiday sticks with us all year long. However, this raises many more problems, because no one around us really knows we are wearing a mask.
Of course as we get used to wearing a mask for the majority of our day, it creeps into our relationships. Every relationship is important one way or another. The most important relationship we have is the one with the Lord. Often how our relationship is with Him affects how our relationships are with others in our daily lives.
Jesus couldn’t be more clear about how He feels about masks. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. As He walked the earth, He modeled for us that there was no need for masks. He was and is truth. If this is the case, shouldn’t we follow His model and be that way with Him? No matter the time or place, He wants our authenticity. Yet we often still try to hide it from Him.
In this scene from The Chosen, Jesus is talking to James and you can clearly see the mask that James is wearing when it comes to everyone else, but also the mask he’s been wearing with Jesus himself. https://youtu.be/KZDvcEkjthA?si=lxciHhNxo4XSqTOn
It is clear through this clip that Jesus wants James to rip off the mask and be authentic with Him. Let’s face the facts: Jesus knows our true selves anyway. Hiding from Him behind some facade doesn’t affect how He is with us, but it certainly affects how we are with Him.
If we try to be someone we’re not, or to hide what we are truly feeling from the Lord, all that does is keep us from turning whatever the issue is over to Him. He is omnipresent and knows what is beneath your mask, no matter how good the costume might be. Surrender that mask and what’s underneath it to Him and watch how He helps, and even uses what we have been hiding, for His glory.
Wearing that mask with Jesus not only hurts the relationship with Him, but often our human relationships suffer as well. If we are willing to try to fool God with some sort of mask, we certainly would find it rather easy to do this with friends and family. This sort of “daily Halloween” can affect our spousal relationships, parenting relationships, occupation relationships and friendships – really every single relationship we have that matters.
The secular world knows this. There are millions of self-help books, websites, and apps that tell you to take off your mask and be your true self. However, as we’ve already discussed, this isn’t what society really teaches us to do. Our society is full of double standards, and here is another. Like so many things that don’t involve Christ, it is a double-edged sword that only leads to you getting cut and hurt.
If this is going to make sense, Jesus has to be at the forefront. Take the clip with James again. He was wearing a mask with his fellow disciples. He went along with them, acting like the happy-go-lucky kind of individual, but underneath that mask was the heart of someone who was hurting and felt as though he was a burden on all of the others. How did this affect each of his relationships?
As someone who has felt this exact feeling at times over the past couple of years, I can safely say that it eats away at you. This eating away has an impact on every relationship in your life because it affects how you interact with others. Your mask may not be one of a burden – it may be anger, emotional hurt, giving up a conviction, or many others – but it has the same jolt to your system. In turn, it has the same kind of effect on relationships.
Jesus is the only fix, the only authentic fix. We must first surrender the mask to Him so we can take it off with others. By no means am I saying this is easy. I know that it is something I struggle with and the Lord reminds me often. So until next time, while everyone else is busy putting masks on for that party or trunk-or-treat, let’s work on taking ours off with the Lord and see what He does.
Son, God has given you a great gift to relate our existence as we walk through this life; to relate that life to our walk with Jesus. You have done it again in a clear and masterful way. Great job! I am very proud of the way He is using you. I love you. Keep taking the mask off.