Masquerading

     In the classic Spongebob Squarepants episode "Spongeguard on Duty," Spongebob dreams of being a lifeguard like Larry the Lobster because he's considered "cool". When Larry mistakes Spongebob for being a lifeguard because he appears to have sunscreen on his nose, Spongebob plays up the "cool" lifeguard life...until he realizes that it means swimming and saving people's lives. By episode's end, Larry realizes that Spongebob is not a lifeguard.

     Larry mistook Spongebob for a lifeguard because he had ice cream, not sunscreen, on his nose. However, Spongebob was willing to go along with it because it meant being a cool, popular lifeguard like Larry. For Larry, sunscreen was the mark of a lifeguard. For Spongebob, sunscreen was a mask. Spongebob fooled Larry and beach goers into thinking that he was a lifeguard and ultimately mask the fact that he couldn't swim. Spongebob's act worked for a while - that is, until Larry was gone and Spongebob had to save a swimmer (let alone Patrick, his best friend).

     Over the past month and a half, safety masks have become commonplace when one goes out. In light of COVID-19, people have been wearing them as a precaution - and in some instances, as a requirement. It truly has been something to go grocery shopping and see nearly everyone wearing masks or bandanas. Starting this Monday, Harris County is requiring people to wear a mask/face covering when they go out in public for the next month or so. I may or may not have made an impromptu mask myself as this order kicks in, but that's another story. 

     A few weeks ago, I came across a post on social media that commented on this increased usage of masks. The post mentioned that they aren't surprised by all of the masks, as they see people wearing them at church every Sunday. That post stuck with me - and honestly convicted me. We may be wearing masks to the grocery store now, but what if we've been wearing masks all along? What if we continue to wear masks even after this pandemic has all passed?  

     Outside of the medical world, masks are used for secrecy and deception. Masks are used to hide ourselves, conceal our identity, or portray a different image than our own. After all, just think of the end of each Scooby-Doo episode where the gang takes off the mask to find out who the villain really is. Sure, masks can be fun on a night like Halloween, but they shouldn't be worn all the time. But why do we do that anyway? 

     While masks may be used to scare people away in Scooby-Doo, our usage of masks is often the exact opposite: to draw people in and gain attention. Masks can also be used to obtain something that we don't already have, such as status or wealth. Whatever their usage may be, masks accomplish the goal of a false appearance. With today's prominence of social media, it's incredibly easy to create and filter that false appearance. And at the heart of creating a false appearance is an identity crisis, a belief that we have to be someone else to succeed or obtain what we want. We don't believe that we're good enough on our own to belong or succeed, so we masquerade our way into belonging or succeeding.

     The unfortunate result of wearing masks is that they often work initially, creating that false appearance we want to display. However, once this false appearance has been created, the pressure to keep it up only mounts from there. After all, everyone has come to expect it from us and we don't want to let them down or admit that it's all a facade. The pressure may make us believe that we can't let go because it will cause terrible consequences and destroy our reputation. We want to believe that our mask is real, even when we know that it's not. When we do that, we deceive everyone, including ourselves. 

     There's an old saying that "you can fool all people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all people all the time". While we may be able to wear our masks and fool everyone for a while, we will eventually be found out. The truth has a way of revealing itself. No matter how hard we try to wear our masks or push our false appearance, it won't last. There's consequences that result from this fallout as well (depending on the mask and situation, some are more consequential than others). A common fallout though is a loss of trust. A deeper reflection would ask if wearing the mask was really worth it. Cynics may argue than it can be, but I would disagree.

     Lately, I've been reading through the Gospel of Matthew. One common occurrence in Matthew (and the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John) is the Pharisees flaunting their righteous appearance. In reality, they're deceiving themselves and desperately trying to keep up their appearance. Instead of listening to Jesus' teachings, they seek to undermine them. The thing is, if the Pharisees truly came to Jesus they would have realized that they don't have to keep up the false appearance they kept projecting. That truth applies to us today just as much as it did to the Pharisees thousands of years ago. When we come to Jesus and accept Him into our life as our Savior, we come to realize that we don't need masks or facade - all we need is Him! We don't have to live a life of lies or keep up some false appearance anymore. We can just be ourselves. 

     Matthew 16:26 poses this question: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" That question is convicting for me every time I ask myself that. Living a life of deception to gain the world's approval or a certain status isn't worth it. You lose too much when you do that, including who you are and whose you are. I've found life a lot more fulfilling when I'm not trying to put on a facade or constantly worry that I'll get "exposed" as a phony.

     To draw back to that social media post, it's true that you'll find "masks" in church on Sundays. There are times I've done that myself, trying to project an image onto others for attention, approval, or recognition. It's an area where I'm still growing in my life, as I imagine many people are. It's a reminder of how broken we all are and need a risen, resurrected savior in Jesus Christ. The good news for that is that there is grace for when we stumble and put on those masks. I'm thankful to have friends that call me out when I put them on, too. My prayer is that I would do the same for my friends and point them back to God. It's all a part of God's refining process. I'm thankful that He's refining me each day, piece by piece. 

     Right now, we're wearing masks for the protection and safety of both ourselves and others. We can keep those masks on. But it's time to stop masquerading who we are or whose we are. We never had to masquerade to begin with. We're children of God saved by His grace through our faith in Christ. That's who we are and whose we are. Take care & stay safe!