Day 45: The masks you wear, and who you wear them for. | The Walk Out

You wear a mask. Most of us wear several. We wear different ones for different rooms.

The masks are exhausting. And you’d be surprised how unnecessary most of them are.

TODAY’S TRUTH The mask you wear isn’t you. The person under it is.

THE READ “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” — Galatians 1:10

Paul is direct. You can either perform for people or live for God. Pick one.

THE REAL Here are some masks people wear:

• The Funny One. If I keep them laughing, they won’t ask me anything real.
• The Tough One. If I keep my guard up, no one can hurt me.
• The Helpful One. If I take care of everyone else, they’ll need me too much to leave.
• The Smart One. If I stay smarter than them, they can’t make me feel stupid.
• The Spiritual One. If I quote enough verses, no one will see what’s underneath.
• The Quiet One. If I don’t say anything, I can’t say anything wrong.
• The Confident One. If I never let on that I’m scared, no one knows I’m scared.

Pick the mask you wear most. There might be more than one.

The mask works in the short term. It keeps you safe in the room. It keeps people at the right distance. It manages how they see you.

Long-term, it’s expensive. Wearing a mask all day is exhausting. Pretending to be someone you’re not means no one can actually love the real you — they’re just loving the mask. And eventually you start to forget there’s a person under the mask at all.

You don’t have to take the mask off everywhere. Some rooms aren’t safe. Some people haven’t earned access to the real you. Wisdom is knowing which rooms are which.

But there has to be at least one place where you take it off. With God for sure. With at least one other person if you can. The mask is not who you are. The person underneath is exhausted from holding it up.

PULL UP What mask do you wear most? Who do you wear it for?

THE MOVE Today, with one person — even just for one minute — drop the mask a little. Tell one true thing instead of the thing the mask would say.

TRACK IT What did the truth feel like?