The Masks We Wear

The prophet Samuel had the enormous task of selecting a king for Israel - he was led to the family of Jesse, and began to inspect the sons.  1st Samuel 16 drives home a great point as the prophet looked at David's brother, Eliab and thought that surely he was the chosen one.7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."   We know the rest of the story, that Samuel chose David to be king of Israel.   There's a great application for us - so often we are concerned with outward appearance, and we don a variety of masks that hide who we truly are.   We shun authenticity in order to please people, or to make them think of us as something other than who Christ has made us.   Our true identity, who we really are, is in Christ, and we may act pious or prestigious in order to gain favor with other people, but the masks can ultimately bring misery to us.   A changed life, set free from the inside, pleases God and brings peace to our hearts.
James 1 encourages us to ask God for wisdom - in faith, and to not be double-minded:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.   The point here is that we are called to a faith walk, and if we are not trusting Christ and walking in His ways, we live a double life and are called double-minded and unstable.

According to a report in CNN Money, a record number of 170 million people plan to celebrate Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation's 2012 consumer spending survey conducted by BIGinsight. The average person will spend nearly $80 on costumes, candy and decoration, $8 more than last year.   And, even though many Christians are choosing not to celebrate Halloween, many kids and families will be participating in fall festivals and the like, so that costume budget will apply to you.  And, you're going to have children coming to your door - perhaps you can add to the candy you hand out a ministry tract or even, as one of our listeners is planning to do, a Faith Radio program schedule.  I think it's recommended that you don't answer the door and tell the wanting children that you don't celebrate Halloween; just go away.

OK, back to costumes - that same story highlights the scientific method of predicting the result of a Presidential race by the sales of a particular mask.   A seasonal, one-thousand store retail chain has
accurately predicted the election winner by charting national mask sales since it started keeping track in 1996.  This year, the sales of Obama masks outpace Romney 60-40% - looking at the story, it might help if the masks pictured actually looked like the candidates. 


Obama beat out Sen. John McCain in mask sales in 2008 with the same split as this year. The retailer also predicted a President George W. Bush win over Sen. John Kerry in 2004, a 2000 Bush victory over former Vice President Al Gore, and a Sen. Bob Dole defeat by President Bill Clinton in 1996.

"A lot of people are going out and supporting their candidate by wearing their masks," said Lisa Barr, senior director of marketing for Spirit Halloween.

I was thinking about the masks we wear - you know, there are results, or consequences of our own personal masks, which could create a narrative far different than what's going on inside our hearts.   Perhaps that's why God told Samuel that He did not look at outward appearance, but at the heart.   What masks do we wear?   I think of prestige - we attempt to convey a certain image by the stuff we own, the society class we belong to, or the sophistication we might try to exude.   But, inside we feel deficient and empty.    Another "mask" is position - we become one with our occupations, and the uniform we wear tells a different story than who we really are.   And, again, the masks we wear can determine the results of our lives - we, in fact, live a dual life and become, as the Bible says, double-minded.

Another "mask" is philanthropy - we give in order to hide our true intentions or we can attempt to feel better about ourselves because we have done something selfless - but the outward display can really mask the selfishness or thirst for attention we actually have - our motives are wrong.   And, perhaps the most dangerous of all - piety.   We "go through the motions" and attempt to act holy, but inside we harbor sinful desires, not realizing that our status with God doesn't depend on our outward actions, but the inner work that He has done.

So, the masks we wear can be predictors of the misery that could result from living a double life, and of the rude awakening we may encounter when we stand before God and recognize that we were acting one way but in God's eyes we were someone different.   And, in many cases, we might face exposure in this life.   Allow God to strip offf the mask and change you from the inside out.