Masks

With Halloween just around the corner, our minds turn to the excitement and activities surrounding the popular autumn holiday… telling scary stories, trick-or-treating, and especially dressing up in costumes.  You never know who or what will show up at your door on Halloween night…  You might encounter anything as ghoulish as ghosts and goblins or harmless and cute as princesses and superheroes.   

Last year it was estimated that Americans spent a combined $3.4 billion on Halloween costumes – that’s a lot of money for outfits that will be worn for just one night!  Others delight in the ingenuity of crafting their own homemade costumes.  Some collect masks as a hobby that they enjoy year-round.  

Certainly, there is a great appeal in wearing a disguise.  It’s a fun distraction to masquerade as someone or something else for a time.

It’s amusing to see people get into character.  Putting on masks can sometimes cause people to act in ways they wouldn’t normally.  They might get carried away by the charade and find themselves taking on the characteristics of the character they have put on.  They might talk differently, change their gait and demeanor.  Again, it’s all in good fun…  But is that always the case?

The Haunted Mask

Back in elementary school I was an avid collector of author R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps”, a series of spooky, horror-themed chapter books for younger audiences.  The very first book from the series I got (ordered from a Scholastic Book Order – Aw, memories!) was entitled “The Haunted Mask”.  In this story a timid young girl, Carly Beth, seeks out the scariest mask possible for her Halloween costume, doing so as an act of rebellion against her doting mother and revenge against her younger brother and a group of neighborhood bullies who delight in scaring her.

Her search leads her to a run-down costume shop which she has never noticed before.  There she finds an assortment of horrifying deformed masks in a back room which feel less like plastic and more like flesh.  The shopkeeper reluctantly sells her a mask from the collection.  As Carly Beth puts on the hideous mask, it seems as though it conforms to the shape of her head.  

She seeks out her tormentors to exact her revenge, but finds that the more she wears the mask, the less she acts like herself.  She becomes increasingly aggressive; she even attacks her only friend while wearing the mask.  Shaken by the incident, Carly Beth attempts to remove the mask – only to find that she can’t!  The more she struggles to take it off the tighter it grips around her face!  The mask is alive and it won’t let her go!

Of course, by the end of the story much of this is resolved, but the story – and that last moment I recounted in particular – really made a big impression on me. 

The Haunted Mask and other, similar stories challenge us to question ourselves as we prepare to join a masquerade:  Are you wearing the mask?  Or is the mask wearing you?

Masks We Wear

“We understand how dangerous a mask can be.  We all become what we pretend to be.” – Patrick Rothfuss

Though we do not always wear masks on just Halloween night…  We wear them all the time, year-round; perhaps even our entire lives.  The way we present and conduct ourselves is just a charade and every day is a masquerade.  We seek to fool the rest of the world – or maybe just ourselves – that we are someone that we actually are not.  

Real-life mask wearers may play a part in front of certain groups of people, but take it off in front of a select group of others to reveal their true self.  The intentions of those wearing such masks vary, perhaps they seek to cover up the past or maybe they hope to deceive others for some kind of gain.  Or maybe they just want to please others.

Obviously, perpetuating an act of deception leads one down a very lonely and dangerous path, especially for one desiring to please God.  Let us examine some masks that we wear everyday…

“I’m Alright…”

A mask that all too many wear is one that declares “I’m alright, I’m OK… I’m just fine.”  The mask-wearer of this type hopes to communicate to other that they have it all together.

In our society especially, this is an all-too-common mask.  Browsing through Facebook and other social media it’s all smiles and picture-perfect posing.  But it’s all a ruse…  We know that physical imperfections can be covered up with Photoshop and people generally share what they want others to see.  Hardly anyone posts their bad hair days or shares their failures.  

Sometimes we seek to fade into the crowd and hope that nobody will take notice of our shortcomings.  We buy into the false message that everyone else has it all together and we wonder why we ourselves aren’t as happy.  If only we could realize that it’s OK to not be OK, we could all actually make some real progress!

Galatians 6:2  Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

When we feel inferior or find ourselves struggling with something, we need to share it with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  How can we bear one another’s burdens if we don’t show them our true selves and reveal our weaknesses?  We will likely be surprised to find that others have the same vulnerabilities that we do.  Through loving and supporting each other – with the help of Jesus – we can overcome any challenge.

Psalm 34:17-18 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Jesus encourages us to be sincere and to give ourselves fully to him.  Only then can we truly have a fulfilling life.

John 10:10  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Worldliness

We often find ourselves frustrated by people who act one way around a particular group, but then completely different around others.  Maybe they talk differently, saying words or phrases that they would not normally.  Or perhaps they even act differently in an attempt to fit it with the rest of a particular crowd.

A group mentality can cause people to do many things that they would not typically ever dream of.  Revelers celebrating a sports victory cause property damage by flipping over cars and setting things on fire.  Peer pressure causes people to try out gateway drugs which lead to cycles of addiction.  Mob mentality lead large groups of people into destructive, murderous riots.

Though we may never – hopefully – find ourselves in any of those kinds of situations, we are not immune to the influence of those who surround us.  Have you ever found yourself avoiding the topic of religion around co-workers or certain groups of friends?  I sadly admit that I myself am often guilty of such.  We should not be ashamed of our belief in Jesus.  In fact, we are told that if we are ashamed of Him that He will be ashamed of us!

Matthew 10:32-33  Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.  But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

We are regularly reminded throughout the Bible that seeking to “fit in with the crowd” is displeasing to God!

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Jesus Himself calls for us to be apart from the crowd.

Matthew 7:13-14 Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

In moments in which we are tempted to go along with the rest of the world, we need to ask ourselves who we are truly seeking to please…  God or man?

Galatians 1:10 (NIV)  Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Covering up Sin

Another mask we wear seeks to cover up sin altogether.  A step up from the previous mask we discussed.  This mask seeks to broadcast that we are sinless, when we know that is simply not true.  

This mask is particularly damaging because in attempting to cover up one sin we end up sinning even more in a sort of snowballing effect.  How many of us have told a lie and then got ourselves entangled in a web of lies that stemmed from the original lie?  

We know that King David lusted after Bathsheba and then sought to hide the sin of adultery by committing more and more sins: attempting to deceive, conspiring against, and eventually murdering her husband (2 Samuel 11-12).  

David described how it felt to try and hide his sins in the 32nd Psalm…

Psalm 32:3  (NIV) When I kept silent, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.

How many of us have struggled with this before?  Hiding sin only to have the guilt of it “eat” away at us; Investing so much energy in covering up the sin for fear of being exposed that we are drained at the end of each day?

Notice the contrast of how David felt upon confessing his sin…  

Psalm 32:5-7 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. 

Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Surely there is a sense of a burden being lifted and an immense relief when one finally decides to be open with God (and with others).  There is great joy in forgiveness!

When we seek to merely hide our sin we must realize that it is only God who can truly cover up sin.  

1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Proverbs 28:13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

There is sometimes danger in taking off a mask.  Some will proudly “take off their mask” to reveal a sinful lifestyle as a point of pride.  They might say “living in an open sin is more truthful and therefore more liberating than pretending to be something I’m not.”  They deceive themselves into thinking that since they are no longer lying that whatever the sin they are involved in is somehow okay with God.  

While they may not be lying, open sin is still open rebellion to God.  To think that God would bless an open display of sin under the pretense of “I’m no hiding it anymore,” is self-deceiving, self-defeating, and self-condemning.

Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins…

Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Pretense of Righteousness

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

There may be those that seek to – willingly or unknowingly – lead us astray.  They may come to us in the guise of having our spiritual best interests in mind, but they are actually agents of the devil.  Therefore we must always be on our guard!

1 John 4:1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Even if we are not deceived by false prophets, we could still deceive ourselves.  The mask of righteousness is a manifestation of self-righteousness!

Unfortunately, there are those that are “Sunday only” Christians.  They wear the name of Christ, know the Bible, and attend church services, but their conduct the rest of the week is ungodly.

It’s these “religious” folks that give Christianity a bad name among the rest of the world.  Why should unbelievers come to know God when those that claim to be His followers are two-faced hypocrites?

Jesus reserved His harshest criticisms for the religious class of His day, the Pharisees.  The Pharisees were infamous for their self-righteousness.  They thought that their righteousness stemmed from their Hebrew heritage and their knowledge of and adherence to the Old Law.  Yet, they merely put on a facade of righteousness when they were actually spiritually dead on the inside.

Matthew 23:27-28 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Harsh judgement awaits those that simply wear the mask of righteousness…

Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

It’s not enough to wear the name of Christ…  We must allow Christ to transform us completely!

God Sees Through Any Mask

No matter what mask we might be wearing, we would do well to remember that God can see through any disguise…  We cannot hide from the Almighty!

Jeremiah 23:24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?”declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”declares the Lord.

Hebrews 4:12-13  For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

To some this idea that “God is always watching” is disturbing and it may even instill fear.  I remember my sister and I always being freaked out by the song “Watching You” in which God was described as an “all-seeing eyeing watching you.”  

However, if we are in Christ, this should actually be a comforting thought!  

Romans 8:38-39  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Just as we cannot hide from God, there is also nothing that can keep us apart from Him.

“The Masks”

We began this lesson with my recalling of a scary story, so we might as well wrap-up with one.

The Twilight Zone was a great Science Fiction and Horror anthology TV show back in the ‘60’s.  One episode that always disturbed me was simply titled “The Masks”.  

Set during Mardi Gras, a wealthy dying man gathers his relatives to his deathbed.  As part of the conditions of his will and in order to inherit his vast wealth he coerces his family members to wear grotesque masks that serve as a reflection of their true personalities. They are compelled to wear the masks until midnight, but when the old man dies, they rejoice in the fact that they are now all rich.  However, upon finally removing their masks, they are horrified to discover that their faces have conformed to the awful, twisted shapes of their mask.

In the closing narration of the episode, Rod Serling said, “Mardi Gras incident, the dramatis personae being four people who came to celebrate and in a sense let themselves go. This they did with a vengeance. They now wear the faces of all that was inside them—and they'll wear them for the rest of their lives, said lives now to be spent in the shadow. Tonight's tale of men, the macabre and masks, on the Twilight Zone.”

Conclusion: Put on Christ

As we have learned from this lesson, we must be careful to not wear masks as Christians.  Masks such as the ones we have discussed can severely damage our relationship with God and negatively affect our spiritual well-being.

However, the Bible does encourage us to put on Christ…

Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

This is the reverse of the aforementioned Twilight Zone…  While a worldly mask may conform us to the ways of the world and cause us to live life ashamed and in the shadows, putting on Christ allows us to stand justified before God.

I've heard preachers often use the illustration of a "spiritual mirror" that could somehow allow ourselves to see the condition of our own soul.  They ask how disfigured and stained we might appear in such a mirror as our life is marred by sin.

But - approaching this illustration from a different, more positive angle - how amazing would it be for us to one day look in that spiritual mirror and no longer see ourselves, but the image of Christ?

If we put on Christ, imitate the character of God, and walk as Jesus walked we will become more like Him!  More than just a mere disguise, taking on Christ-like characteristics can transform our heart and soul!

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.