What Face You Wearing?

Do we really know anybody?
Who does not wear one face to hide another?

- Frances Marion

A Double Mask

"Do you not know that there comes a midnight hour when every one has to throw off his mask? Do you believe that life will always let itself be mocked? Do you think you can slip away a little before midnight in order to avoid this? Or are you not terrified by it? I have seen men in real life who so long deceived others that at last their true nature could not reveal itself...

In every man there is something which to a certain degree prevents him from becoming perfectly transparent to himself; and this may be the case in so high a degree, he may be so inexplicably woven into relationships of life which extend far beyond himself that he almost cannot reveal himself. But he who cannot reveal himself cannot love, and he who cannot love is the most unhappy man of all." Soren Kierkegaard

I was really drawn to the above quote. It addresses the double standard we are experiencing today and not talking about the government. I am referring to the Church World. Seems too many areas of life have a dark side, with so many wearing masks (i.e., living a so-called Christian life while having hidden agendas). Sadly, many have worn the masks for so long that they don't know right from wrong.

Oh Church, wake up - the world is watching us, our children are watching us, our brothers and sisters in the Lord are watching us. The midnight hour is near when everything will be revealed and made transparent. Let's not be found as partakers of deceit. Dear Lord, may we be transparent enough in our spirits to see ourselves as we really are each and every day.

Beware of the Plastic!

The other day I was looking at the various masks for Halloween - some scary, some subtle, even some looking sweet. They were all masks to cover the real identity of a person; however, it's what's behind a mask that is the real, the genuine, the authentic person, not a character. This is true of life. We confront people everyday that wear masks - some need our help for they are crying on the inside but others would rip tenderness from our hearts. Well, with all that said: Here's a repeat of a post I previously did, and it tells perfectly how I feel today.

Years ago, a certain set of words came to my mind - ones I have never forgotten, What were they? BEWARE OF THE PLASTIC! Well, being an average “Joe” – on second thought, “Joette” - I thought it meant use of my credit card so I quickly checked to make sure that I wasn’t abusing that little piece of (security??). However, the words continued to echo for weeks in my mind, and then one day - WHAM, they came alive - Beware of those wearing Masks - wearing “plastic” faces in order to conceal their true identity (i.e., character). Using Pretense! Yes, we all see them, know them, and are approached by them. They may be Plastic Faces that worship and fellowship with us, work with us at our jobs, live beside us as neighbors, perhaps even some may be kin folk, and the list could go on and on (I'll let you let your mind take you there).

I know you probably think I am “hung up” on being careful. Well, I am! The Word tells us to do so, particularly in the hour in which we live. Deception, deceit, pretense, whatever you want to call it is FOR REAL folks. There are those among us wearing the disguise of righteousness, goodness and honesty - making His Word fit their lifestyle, their wants, and their desires. Caught up in the “I”, “Me”, “Mine”, "Myself" syndrome - serving God without any compromise of their thought process. And they desire for us to join them - to compromise our walk with Him.

Oh, how important it is to hold firm to our faith and belief in the truths of God’s Word and His teachings. We must seek out the Better Way. As for me, I plan to heed the words offered me a little over 40 years ago - BEWARE OF THE PLASTIC!

Plastic?

Years ago, a certain set of words came to my mind - ones I have never forgotten, What were they? BEWARE OF THE PLASTIC! Well, being an average “Joe” – on second thought, “Joette” - I thought it meant use of my credit card so I quickly checked to make sure that I wasn’t abusing that little piece of (security??). However, the words continued to echo for weeks in my mind, and then one day - WHAM, they came alive - Beware of those wearing Masks - wearing “plastic” faces in order to conceal their true identity (i.e., character). Using Pretense! Yes, we all see them, know them, and are approached by them. They may be Plastic Faces that worship and fellowship with us, work with us at our jobs, live beside us as neighbors, perhaps even some may be kin folk, and the list could go on and on (I'll let you let your mind take you there).

I know you probably think I am “hung up” on being careful. Well, I am! The Word tells us to do so, particularly in the hour in which we live. Deception, deceit, pretense, whatever you want to call it is FOR REAL folks. There are those among us wearing the disguise of righteousness, goodness and honesty - making His Word fit their lifestyle, their wants, and their desires. Caught up in the “I”, “Me”, “Mine”, "Myself" syndrome - serving God without any compromise of their thought process. And they desire for us to join them - to compromise our walk with Him. It is important to hold firm to our faith and belief in the truths of God’s Word and His teachings. We must seek out the Better Way. As for me, I plan to heed the words offered me 40 years ago this June - BEWARE OF THE PLASTIC!