Masks

Let's get real. We all like masks. We feel safe behind them, less vulnerable. We like hiding who we really are.

Comic book heroes always have masks. Remember Zorro? "Who was that masked man?" Good question! They wear masks to hide their true identities...hmmm.

Women wear the mask of make-up. We don't want anyone to see our flaws, so we hide them with carefully applied masks so we can feel more comfortable with ourselves. Really, that's all it accomplishes. Because other people don't care much about what we look like. They are too busy being concerned about what they look like. But, we don't like to go out without our masks in place. It feels way too vulnerable to be exposed. Scary even.

Men wear the mask of being tough...macho. Don't show your true feelings, you might look weak. Survival of the fittest. Keep your guard up, or the others will attack.

We wear religion like a mask, hiding behind it whenever things get too messy...too real...for our comfort. God deals in hearts, but we prefer staying on the surface of people. When it gets messy, we throw up a Scripture quote to try and calm things down. We have these quotes at the ready...so we can "fix" whatever might be coming up around us. We don't like messy. We don't like real. We feel a sense of security that our way...our religion...our interpretation of God and the Bible...is the right way. If we could only convince everyone else how "right" we are, they might not have to get so messy. "The Bible says..." and there you go. Stop crying. Stop raging. Stop feeling. I have just fixed you.

Perfection is the goal behind masks, isn't it? Our perceived perfection is what we want to present to others. We are afraid of our humanity, so we choose to hide it behind a mask.

I wonder what this new masked world of ours is going to teach us?
I wonder if the masks will ever come off? I hope they do.