“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30, MSG)
I had no intentions of doing this. I'm once again just being obedient. Yesterday was October 31. It's a day set aside once a year to dress up and pretend to be someone or something that you're not. So many of us are doing this every day though. We're wearing masks every day with everyone. We're using them to hide who we are, what we feel, what we're about. We do it so that we can impress other people. We do it so we can seem like we're put together even when our world is crumbling around us. We do it so we can cope. Sometimes the mask is the only thing that gets us through the day. How many times have you walked past someone in passing and said, "hey, how you doing" while never breaking stride? We often ask people how they're doing without waiting for a response. It's polite to ask, but do we really want to know? Do we really want to know people's truth? We may say we do. We may actually think we do. However, in reality, hearing your truth could actually make me have to deal with mine. Hearing your truth may create a burden for me that's too heavy to bear. I don't really want to hear your truth because I've gone through so much trouble to hide my own. You've probably noticed that I'm not saying "people." I'm saying "we" and "us". I'm included; I wear masks. If you're honest, you probably have as well at some point. We wear masks to hide our truth.
The mask protects. The mask hides. The mask shields. The nature of people makes you hide your truth. People hold your truth against you. People take advantage of you because of your truth. People ridicule you because of your truth. People judge you because of your truth. People shun you because of your truth. People abandon you because of your truth. People reject you because of your truth. So it becomes like second nature to hide your truth. People hide their truth out of fear. People hide their truth out of embarrassment. People hide their truth out of pride. People hide their truth for protection. People hide their truth for inclusion. People hide their truth for acceptance.
We hide our truth from our family. We hide our truth from our friends. We hide our truth from our church members. We hide our truth from our co-workers. Sometimes we're silly enough to believe that we can hide our truth from God. Hiding your truth seems so much easier than letting people know about your truth. We convince ourselves it's just easier to mask our pain rather than deal with the consequences of sharing it. If you tell them you were molested as child, they'll wonder why you're still allowing that to control you as an adult. If you tell them you struggle with relationships because you grew up in a dysfunctional household, they tell you to get over it because you're an adult now. If you tell them you were raped by some you know, they may wonder what you did to entice him. If you tell them you were abused, they'll wonder why you were stupid to stay in the relationship in the first place. If you're still shaken by the death of a loved one, they'll wonder why you're grieving so long. If you're leery of relationships after a divorce, they'll tell you to stop living in the past. If you're holding on to rejection, they'll insist you stop worrying about someone who isn't worried about you. If you're homosexual, they'll judge you for living out of the will of God. If you had a relationship with someone who's married, they'll consider you as the homewrecker. If you admit you have or had a STD, they'll assume you're reckless and nasty or promiscuous. If you have or had an abortion, they'll judge you for not using birth control. If you give your baby up for adoption, they'll say you shirked your responsibilities. If you don't go to church, they'll make you a hell bound heathen. If you're taking anti-anxiety meds or seeing a therapist, they'll call you crazy. If you try to commit suicide, they'll call you weak-minded. You may be wearing one or more of these masks. I'm wearing one or more of these masks. We've got to learn to let our masks go though.
Sometimes our truth is ugly. Sometimes our truth is dirty. There's no joy in hiding our truth. There's no peace in hiding our truth. There's no healing in hiding our truth. There's no deliverance in hiding our truth. There's no testimony in hiding our truth. That which is hidden cannot be helped. That which is hidden cannot be healed. That which is hidden cannot be set free. That which is hidden cannot help others. As difficult as it is, we must learn to shed our masks. Tell God about your hurts, your pains, your shame. Seek professional help. It is okay to shed your masks. It is okay to not be okay.
Lord I pray for those reading this that are masking some sort of truth. I pray that they know that you desire to heal all of their broken places. Our masks not only shield us from pain and scrutiny they also shield us from you. You cannot help what we hide. You cannot heal what we conceal. Release in us the strength to stop allowing our shame and fear control us. Reveal to us that which is blocking our connection to you. Mend our broken places. Remove doubt, shame and fear from us. Deliver us from the oppression our masks have brought us. In Jesus' name, amen.
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