Mike Mack- When I was about 10 years old, I made friends with two brothers in my neighborhood, Tim and Jeff Ward. Perhaps because I did not have a brother living at home, or just for fun, I told them I had a twin brother named Mark. We would be playing Wiffle ball, and I’d go home, change clothes, and come back as Mark. At first Mike was a better batter, but Mark steadily improved (which is how I became a decent switch hitter). After a week or so, they grew suspicious, asking me questions like why we rode the exact same bike (our parents were too poor to afford two bikes I said) or why they never saw us together (because we only had one bike!). When they came to our house, only one of us was ever around; the other had a game, choir rehearsal, or was at another friend’s house. Then one day, Jeff asked my mom where Mark was, “Who’s Mark?” my mom asked. The gig was up.
Why do so many of us pretend to be something we’re not? Probably because we’re afraid people won’t accept us for who we really are. So we put on a mask that hides the real us. We wear these masks at church, too- the one place we should be real, authentic and genuine. Someone once said, “There’s more lying on Sunday morning than any other day of the week.”