Confidence Under the Mask

   One show I enjoy watching is called the masked singer. On the show celebrities dress up like different characters and sing. Then the panel of experts try to guess who the celebrity is based off of his/her voice and the clues they were given. At the end of each night at least one singer is unmasked. Many of the singers, after they are unmasked, say how much they enjoyed being on the show. They say that they enjoyed just being able to sing without anyone knowing who they are.
   One particular character who said something along those lines was seahorse. She acted like a diva when she was under the mask to try to throw the panel and the audience off. Then, after she was unmasked, she said she would now have to go back to being herself and stop being a diva. Now, I'm not saying that being a diva is or isn't a good thing. But I wonder why she felt that she had to stop doing that if it was something she enjoyed. Perhaps it was because no one could reject her. Perhaps it was because she had confidence when no one knew who she was. Maybe with the mask on she felt she was able to be more real, or more herself.
   Many of us don't wear masks like they do on the masked singer. But we do sometimes put up fake masks. We act different with different people. When we are upset, we may act like everything is okay. Why do we do that? Sometimes we do it because of our jobs or it's not the right time to talk about it. But, many times, I feel we put on fake masks because we are afraid of rejection. We are afraid others will not accept us for who we are. We are afraid if we show who we are people will see the cracks in us and that we are not perfect. Well, I hate to break it to you, but everyone already knows you are not perfect.
   I have found that if we are real with others, if we take off our fake masks, we are able to reach more people. When we are truthful about our downfalls more people feel like they can talk to us. Paul discusses this in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 which says:

"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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

   Did you catch that? God's power is made perfect in weakness. We all have many downfalls. We mess up from time to time. Unfortunately, many times we try to hide it. I have found that if we would tell others about our weaknesses people see that we are not "holier than thou." We don't think that anyone who sins is a horrible person because we too sin. I cannot tell you how many people have opened up to me because I opened up to them. I was able to reach those people and spread the Gospel to them because I was real with them. Then they realized that they too did not need to have a fake mask on. They realize that God does not care what they have done, he loves them just the same. No matter what you have done, God loves you. He knows you. He wants to spend eternity with you.
That's why we should take off our fake masks. God knows us anyhow. He wants us to be genuine with others so that his power can show through us.
   So, do you have a fake mask on currently? How can you open up and be more authentic with others? Will you choose to be real with others so God's power can show thorough you?
   Image from here.