The masks we wear...

Halloween is a fun time of year - first of all there is candy, parties, pumpkin carving, and of course very excited kids. Also, we get the chance to dress up and pretend to be someone or something else. We get to be something hillarious, or one of our favorite childhood characters. Perhaps we choose to be someone we always dreamed of becoming (like a racecar driver, or a doctor - maybe even a superhero).
As I was thinking about this I suddenly realized that Halloween isn't all that different from everyday life. In fact, daily life is more like Halloween than we probably care to admit. Sure it's not all pumpkins and parties, but none-the-less we in fact choose to participate in Halloween daily. Often we choose to pretend to be someone else, to hide behind a mask.
We may "technically" be grown-ups, but we still play pretend everyday. We pretend that we're happy when we are really crying inside. We sneak around, acting like we're not sleeping with our girlfriend, shoving aside the doubts that eat away at us. We put on a friendly mask when in reality we would really like to strangle our co-worker. We pretend that we don't get high that often, but our bank account tells another story. Every day we hide the fact that we are lying... lying to ourselves as much as we are to others.
We put on a front, pretending that we are good and have it all together; trying to mask the truth and hide the ugliness in our lives.
We may think we've got everyone fooled - and for a while we might succeed - but eventually, sooner or later our true self will be revealed.
There is a proverb that states the following: "As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man."
Though we may be masters of disguise on the outside, our hearts ultimately reveal who we really are - what our true nature is. What is interesting is that this proverb comes in the middle of a section of proverbs on personal growth. It is worth mentioning that the first proverb in this section calls attention to the way social interaction facilitates growth. We are best sharpened and matured through real and honest interaction with one another.
It is true that we all have heart defects, but thankfully we can grow and mature out of them. It is not something we simply do on our own, but something we do together in community.
So I encourage you to enjoy this Halloween, dress up, eat some candy and have a party. But let's all consciously leave our masks and costumes at home when we come together for community and fellowship and take time to be real about our struggles and short comings. This way we can all grow together into the new creation God has called us to be with changed hearts that will truly reflect our transformation and we will no longer need to hide.