Removing my mask, Showing my true self !

We all know what it means to wear a mask since, on a global scale, we almost all had to wear one during the Covid period.

I am sometimes surprised to still see people wearing one when I get on the tram or when I take the train, and I remember the discomfort it represented. I hated it!

Yet, somehow, it could have its practical side, and when I finally could take it off because it was no longer mandatory, I felt like something was missing!

Wiith a mask, I could hide some of my flaws. I thought my eyes looked more beautiful, as if highlighted, because you couldn't see the bags under my eyes anymore!

In the same way, we often wear a mask to hide something from others that we dislike and imagine they dislike as well.

Great shyness, hidden by a burst of laughter, a smile when we are sad, a confident posture when we have no self-confidence.

It's perfectly normal, we adapt to our environment, to circumstances, and to who we are.

But the more we wear a mask to hide our flaws or emotions, the harder it is to be ourselves.

The mask we wear may help us feel more at ease at certain moments in our lives, but it can also create a feeling of discomfort, a fear of not being loved if we show our true selves, and sometimes a sense of duality.

The danger that awaits us is that, after a while, we may no longer be aware at all that we are wearing a mask.

But God did not intend for things to be this way.

When we think of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis, it is written that God would come to see them. He had a relationship with them.

One evening, He called out to them, as he usually did, but they hid because they had disobeyed and were now afraid of God. Finally, God asked the man:

Where are you?

Adam heard God's voice and was afraid. Because he was naked, he hid himself! He had lost the simplicity of the relationship he had with Him because he had disobeyed, and he bore the consequences on his conscience.

When God came to see them in the garden, He already knew very well what they had done since He knows everything. The Bible tells us this in Psalm 139:

"Lord, you have searched me and you know me, You know when I sit and when I rise, You perceive my thoughts from afar; You discern my going out and my lying down, You are familiar with all my ways.…"

In the same way, God seeks to have an intimate relationship with us, without veils or pretense.

He already knows everything about us, but He still takes the trouble to come and ask us the question:

Where are you?

Removing one's mask means allowing God to find our heart, no matter its state, and letting Him do what is necessary to repair and heal it.

God will cover the one who is upright before Him as He covered Adam and Eve with animal skins when they were naked and ashamed.

Jesus covers us through His sacrifice on the cross if we ask for His forgiveness or seek His help. We should not be afraid to come to God, He knows us and loves us more than anything, even when we mess up! Let's remain true!

We may wear a mask because we are under the weight of guilt or shame with all sorts of reasoning "If others knew what I do... or what I have been through..."

We might fear rejection if we confess what we do in secret. Fear of judgment from others because we believe we are the worst in our surroundings, we imagine that others are better, and we remain in our problems or suffering.

But God does not want us to stay like that, He calls us to freedom. And I believe it is rather the role of the enemy to push us to keep a mask on, to keep us away from God, in guilt and shame.

God is not ashamed of what you will tell Him. He won't even be shocked. Jesus accepted to die precisely because He knows we need to be saved, He knows we are imperfect.

If I pretend to be a perfect Christian because I am ashamed of my practices, I wear a mask and remain a slave.

Jesus died so that I could be free.

Suffering can drive us to wear a mask, because of what we've been through; Sexual abuse, words that have belittled us, someone who has rejected us; Sometimes our own family or too many failures that push us to pretend to be the best and to elevate ourselves in front of others...

We wear a mask while internally we have terrible anxieties or a feeling of insecurity as soon as we are alone.

The masks we wear and suffer from, but no longer know how to free ourselves from. Above all, not showing others who we really are.

I believe that to be able to remove our mask, we must no longer be afraid. And to no longer be afraid, we must be sure of the love of the one to whom we show our true self.

The Bible says that fear is not in love or that perfect love drives out fear!

Knowing that God loves us so much that He will always be there and that He does not judge us according to our weaknesses or faults and above all that He has all the power to free us, can change everything.

God wants to set us free. And He has the power to do so!

We all face what I describe at some point in our lives.

I take one last example, the most dangerous in my opinion, the religious mask!

In the Gospels, we are told of a situation where the Scribes and Pharisees, that is, the religious leaders of the time, bring an adulterous woman before Jesus. They know the law and the fact that Moses said such a woman should be stoned.

"And you, Jesus, what do you say?"

You see, there, they are wearing a religious mask.

If you look at the texts of the Gospels, Jesus did not condemn sinners; He called them to change their lives but He condemned the religious people who wore this mask. In this story, Jesus confounds them!

"Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone."

And these men who were ready to throw their stone stepped back, they left, accused by their conscience, first the oldest then the youngest.

Generally speaking, not much shocks me, and because of my many mistakes, I do not judge easily. Yet one day, a few years ago, while I was talking to God about my indignation towards someone, He immediately responded:

And you? Have you forgotten how you used to be and all that I have done for you?

He reminded me that I had been in the same situation as the person I was now judging.

I had the attitude of the Pharisees, and God severely rebuked me for my attitude, and He did not let me judge. God hates when we become religious.

Daring to remove one's mask can be a long process. I'll leave you to reflect on everything I have written with a few questions:

Do I want to continue wearing a mask, or do I accept to become vulnerable so that God can change me?

Can I believe that God loves me as I am?

Is it more important for me to be well regarded by others or to be well regarded by God?

Feel free to contact me if you want to talk about it.