Choosing to where a mask instead of living a life of authenticity is a natural choice. Choosing to reject a growing relationship with your creator and taking charge even seems wise. These seem like effective strategies to avoid pain, rejection and to meet the expectations of others. Self-protection on the surface seems necessary. On deeper examination this strategy is self-destructive. The consequences lead to an illusionary life. Thomas Moore speaks of this in terms of “forgetting”. He states that we forget who we were and who we might be.
The first thing we forget is who we were. Masks are powerful things. They can become real to us. We buy into our own illusions. The past informs us. The false self you create by design buries
any reality and negates any growth. It
is an avoidance of truth and attempts to distances you from pain. Your new persona (or mask) is escape from
reality and the creation of an illusion.
The second thing we forget according to Moore is “what we
might be”. The journey of life is
revealing new things to us every day. If
we live in reality we will be continually discovering new aspects of our true,
authentic self. The cost of pretense is
the loss of the future. God has created
you with great potential and over your life you will experience new elements of
“what you might be” gradually. The excitement
of the gradual revelation of new things about yourself is part of the wonder
and fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.
You have a special place in that plan.
But you cannot grow from a defensive posture. In your created, illusionary world the false
self closes the door to self-awareness. It
specializes in self-protection.
These two traps are places of deception and pretense. There is no advancement and no reality. You are cut off from the source of all
insight and self-knowledge. You are alienated
from Abba Father. He is the source of
all truth. Your alienation and self-protection
cuts you off from all reality. This are
the true trade offs of your choice of pretense.
Your choice of faith in and union with the transcendent, creator God and
the revealer of all truth allows life, fulfillment, and revelation to
flow. You open the door to relationship
and life. So the choice is yours. The trade-offs are real and costly. Faith is the only healthy choice. The faith to join in union with your creator is
the beginning of a love affair that will bring growth and fulfillment for the
rest of your life. He is waiting for you with open arms.