So who are we fooling, really?
We can only keep up the charade for so long and the best news is – there is no need to have a charade at all.
Have you ever watched teenagers morph into whatever friend group they are trying to “fit into” at the current time?
Their desire to be accepted and liked causes them to put on masks and morph their identities so perhaps they will receive acceptance.
It never works, however. If they change to “fit in” – it is just a mater of time before the winds change and the surface friends go another direction . . . . leaving the teenager who morphed his/her identity alone.
That is one of the toughest lessons to learn in growing up . . . both chronologically (OR PHYSICALLY) and spiritually.
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The lesson? We do not EVER need to morph into being someone else. What we do need to do, however, is work towards becoming OUR BEST SELF. This is the self that loves Love with all our hearts, soul, and mind and loves others as we love ourselves.
In order to develop into our “best” self . . . we have to be true to who we are . . . warts and all. That requires some confession . . .
We can be seduced by the appeal of appearing more “together” or “religious” than we actually are. It is far easier to cast guilt on others rather than acknowledging our own “stuff.”
A way around this falseness is by saying “I’m Sorry.”
The practice of self-examination and confession acknowledge the deep gap between how we appear and who we actually are.
By saying “I’m sorry” we confess “God, I will not hide anything from you that you do not always now. There is no pretending in your presence; thus I want to just be who I am.”
It is when we approach God this way that there is no pressure to have the masks or the fakeness. We don’t have to hide our regrets and remorse, but rather know that in the eyes of God we can be “I am who I am.” Which is just how God greeted Moses when he encountered him in the burning bush.
Thoughts to Ponder:
Do you go to God with authentic prayer or you do try to present your “best self” as if that is going to make some kind of difference in your relationship with God?
What mask do you currently have on that needs to be removed?
Why is that mask there?
Try offering the words, “I’m sorry” and then pausing for the words to come to you. It might be enlightening what you find.