Masking the wounds...

Masking the wounds...

By Bobby Schuller, Hour of Power Pastor

"...I have concealed my sin as people do, by hiding my guilt in my heart because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside..."

-Job 31:33-34

So many of us, if not all of us, live in some kind of fear. And the more wounded we've been in our lives, the more fearful we become, and the more likely it is that we wear masks to cover those wounds.

So, we do it. We build religious masks, we talk about how holy we are, we post to Facebook or call others to tell them about all the volunteering or ministry that we're doing. I do this, then I catch myself, and I think, oh, I shouldn't have done this.

We also wear masks for work or academia. We love to brag about all the positive things that we're accomplishing. We want to be thought of as the smartest, the most talented, or the most sought after.

We go into debt to buy stuff we don't need to uphold these masks of success so our friends and others will like and admire us. Sometimes we wear masks for people we don't even like. We catch ourselves caught up in the heavy burden of dishonest, mask-wearing lives.

But, that's not what God wants for us. He wants us to lay down our masks, be our true selves, and find relief and peace in the easy yoke of Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, help me to walk in your easy yoke. Help me to be honest, revealing my true self with humility, courage, and love. Amen.