Stop the Masquerade: Unveil the Masks
“Be yourself; everyone else is taken.” Oscar Wilde Unveiling the Masks By continuously covering up God’s good and perfect design, we are shouting out the message; “God, your masterpiece is not good enough.” “God. You messed up when you made me!” As Christ followers I don’t think any of us would really believe that message; yet we subconsciously say it when we masquerade as something we were never meant to be, in order, to gain the appeal and approval of others. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10…
Learning to Live Out of Our True Selves
As I step softly into this new year many questions have already begun to occupy my mind. What keeps me from living freely out of my unique, God-created design? What paralyzes me from living out of my true, authentic self? What has me repeatedly running to others to earn validation, applause and approval? “The greatest battle we face as human beings is the battle to protect our true selves from the self the world wants us to become.” E.E. Cummings Living Out of Our True Self: The true self are those parts of you that are authentic, and flow from living out of the true identify you have…
Fear of Authenticity: Listening to Wrong Messages
When we are afraid of being seen for who we really are, we create appealing façades to hide our true-selves. We learn to promote someone who is likeable, agreeable, valuable and desirable. And we cover over areas we consider to be flawed, blemished or that may be rejected. In this process of masking we learn to deny God’s standard to live freely out of who He created us to be and we appease the standards that we think others are setting before us; leaving us vulnerable to the enemy’s attack. We often deny our true ideas or opinions We hide our real feelings and emotions for fear that we will…
Exposed to God’s Truth: Knowing Self
The Character Quality of Knowing Self: I expectantly eyed the bathroom mirror, keenly aware that this day would not only put another candle on an elaborately iced cake, but mark off another significant decade. With anticipation for the day ahead of me, I stopped to assess my reflection. Instantly, I was met by a rather dismal birthday pronouncement. The voice in my head spoke loud and clear. “I don’t like you!” In one quick instance, I had summed up four decades of my life. And with four short words, I had pronounced myself, lacking. Was I saying that I didn’t like how I looked? Or was I saying, that…
Unveiling the Mask: Learning to live out of your God-given design
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