REMOVING THE MASKS OF PEOPLE, CULTURE, AND PERSONALITY
``We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.’’ (2 Cor. 10:5)
Case Study - One afternoon, one of my seminary students took me to the Jos Museum. He said, ``Sir, I want to show you something my father made!’’ Naive as I was in those early years of being in Africa, I thought he would show me a clay pot, a drum, or a sculpture his father had constructed. When we arrived at the Museum, he directed me to a special glass case where he pointed to a juju mask and proudly announced, ``My father made that mask which allowed him to assume the roles of the spirit of travelling.’’ When he told me this I thought. Oh, he is probably referring to travelling in a taxi, bus, or lorry. But, the student went on to explain, ``After my father donned the mask, he would assume a new identity. He was instantly transformed into somebody else. He acquired new powers above and beyond those of a mere mortal man. At a moment’s notice, he could fly great distances between villages, appearing at special sacrificial ceremonies. People feared my father and gave him great respect when he wore his mask, but ignored most of the other times. However, when I became a Christian I knew that wearing the mask would be wrong even though it would have been my right as the first born son. Still, I feel something missing. What can I get so as to gain the respect, power, and freedom that my father experienced with his mask.’’ The student was looking for something that he could use to transform himself!
After I thought about that incident, it struck me that everyone looks for masks that can miraculously change their identities. Some are looking for masks to be able to hide their inner sense of inadequacies. Others are looking for masks that can make them into the cultural image of someone great. Still others are looking for identities that will make themselves acceptable in the eyes of their culture. Perhaps most tragically, many are looking to use Christianity as a mask in order to appear acceptable in the eyes of God and men. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for putting on their hypocritical masks of religion. Listen to what he told them about their masquerades:
``When you fast, do not be sad-faced like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show other their fasting. I assure you, they have received their full reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that no one except your heavenly Father who is there in the secret place may notice your fasting. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.’’ (Matt. 6:16-18)
Many religions, cultures, and certain personalities honor fasting for its great sacrifice, but Jesus knew that it could be used as a mask for empty spiritualizing. Some people think that fasting can draw special notice from God, men, and oneself to the higher spiritual powers. In actuality fasting has been used by many as a mask of spiritual piety falsely. Jesus condemned any practice that was used as an ostentatious parade of piety. Fasting, like many masks that people use today are vain attempts to move God to liberate them from their distresses. Some people look at fasting as a special charm to get the favor of God. Fasting is looked at by some religions as an extra special way of gaining personal, tribal, and national penitence. Legitimately, spiritual fasting may have this effect of diverting disasters in seeking forgiveness from God. But it is often looked at as a manipulative tool to bribe God into doing special favors. Fasting like masks (Real and Imaginary Ones) are used extensively throughout the world, but especially in Africa to put on certain identities. Here is a story to illustrate the wrong ideas about using fasting as a religious masquerade:
Story - Once a traveller found an old religious looking priest walking through the streets of the crowded streets of the capital city. Since few religious people frequented this part of the city, the man became curious and asked the elderly religious man a question. ``What are you looking for in the market places and the streets of this dirty city?’’ The old man turned to him with a disheveled look on his face and said, ``I am seeking the face of an unpretentious man!’’ The traveller looked at the priest and said, ``What do you mean by that?’’ To which the priest replied, ``I have lived in a monastery all of my life thinking that was the way to greater holiness, but I was wrong! The reason I went to the monastery in the first place was the fact that I would not have to wear a mask of pretentious piety. But after 40 years, I can see that I have just as many masks now as when I went in. Now I am looking for someone who is willing to show me how to remove my masks. I want to be able to see God clearly without having to wear any masks.’’ This puzzled the traveller since he only thought of physical masks used for juju, dodo, or ancestral worship. Then the priest spoke for the last time, ``I want to meet a man in whom there is no guile with nothing to hide, and purely transparent.’’ The man turned to the priest and said, ``Well, you are obviously looking in the wrong place!’’
If we disappoint people who are looking for a glimpse of the attributes of God in our fellowships, we also may be guilty of having people look in the wrong place for genuine models of Christlikeness. Our many masks may be some of the reasons why people are forced to look elsewhere for Christ’s image. Many people are wearing masks (Psychological, Emotional, Spiritual etc.) because they are afraid of letting others see what is inside. They are frightened that if others discover their real true identity they will be rejected. Fearing persecution, some will use masks to protect themselves from criticism, intrigue, or back-biting. They will put on a mask of importance or status via their position hoping that others will not discover their inadequacies. Erecting emotional walls through masks can imprison many. The Lord desires for us to be pure, blameless, and unashamed of who we are in Christ. He frees us from the fears of guilt, shame, or condemnation through His grace. The question is, how are we are able to contextualize His love, grace, and acceptance so that people will be encouraged to stop relying on their masks?
God has given each Christian unique talents, gifts, and identities that He wants to shine forth. This is our individual beacon through which the truth of gospel can penetrate the dark corners of our world. One reason why people continue to wear masks is because of the fear of their past. They are afraid that if others learn about their inner secrets, they will be cast as worthless. People use various mask to cover up their inner secrets. The following are some of the most common masks used in Africa to hide people’s true image of Christ that resides in the heart of every true Christian.
1. The Mask of Tradition - There is an illusion that as long as one is truly consistent with the identities, roles, and responsibilities of one’s fore-fathers, he will be acceptable. By assuming the roles of the elders, one is supposedly carrying forth the values of one’s predecessors. Jesus made it clear that those who hold their traditions higher than the oracles of God are hypocrites. They use their traditions as an excuse for not carrying out the obedience to God. They prohibit people from seeing God as He really is because they are projecting tradition as something sacred or as an avenue to God. Within this mask there is an insistence that people conform to the established systems, procedures, and models of the authoritative fathers. The use of this mask has done more to hinder the qualitative and quantitative growth of the church in Africa than nearly any other thing.
2. The Mask of Progress - Just as tradition can be a cover-up so can one’s progressive desire for change be a mask in Africa. Many leader has used the drum of progress to engineer his own way into power. Progressives often present themselves as problem-solvers with innovative solutions. Often they will use young enthusiastic zealots to trumpet their causes through modernistic, rationalistic, and developmental approaches. They are usually unaware of the emphasis on progress is a disguise for manipulative efforts to institute their own ideas.
3. The Mask of Culture - Many sinister activities have been carried out in the name of culture in the church within Africa. People have assumed that as long as something ``fits’’ the culture it must be contextual. However, the cultural mask can be a pretense for bringing in fleshly elements into the church. One man insisted that the cultural practice of polygamy was so embedded into his culture that the church should allow polygamists to occupy elder positions. When the church allowed this practice, the chief polygamists took control of the church and turned it into a cultural extension of his beliefs and practices.
4. The Mask of Position - Throughout the world, but especially in Africa there is a mad scramble to get positions of power, influence, and status. Hopes are high that the mask of the lofty position will enable a person to do great things for one’s people. However, the superficiality of this masks wear off quickly when one looks at the track record of many leaders. Jesus said, ``The Scribes and the Pharisees are occupying Moses’ seat; therefore do and observe whatever they tell you, but do not behave as they do: for they talk and do not practice . . . They conduct their activities to be noticed by men. For they enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their fringes; they cherish the chief place at dinners and the best seats in the synagogues . . . alas . . . you hypocrites, all of this is done as a pretext for piety and you cheat widows out of their houses. For this you will receive greater judgment.’’ (Matt 23)
5. The Mask of Power - It has become a well known fact that some people try to intimidate others with their displays of power. This has happened inside and outside of the church in Africa. Some of these instances are genuine evidences of the Spirit of God moving in the hearts of people, but many are counterfeits. People who are trying to rework, remold, and reshape the power displays of spiritual men for their own purposes will find themselves hugely disappointed. Ananias and Sapphira thought that they could win favor in the eyes of God and men by offering money to the early church. They could have retained the proceeds from their sale of property, but they colluded with each other to lie. They said that they had GIVEN ALL THE MONEY, as a mask of their mask of power relinquishing. In actuality they had given only a part of the money. Peter quickly lashed out at Ananias by saying, (Acts 5:1-11)
``Satan has filled your heart with lies to the Holy Spirit.’’ This implies that Ananias had become so possessed with the desire for power, that he had allowed the devil to control his thinking. It shows that the mask of power is not reserved for men alone. Peter then accused Sapphira of testing the Holy Spirit. She was presuming on her own power to cover over her masks of pretension. As a result of this devastating display of judgment by the Spirit in taking their lives, the entire believers and unbelievers who heard about this felt great fear. God becomes greatly displeased with the mask of dishonesty, deceit, and collusive uses of power or wealth. God wants the positions of leadership preserved only for men and women of honest character. He wants to work only through those who are pure, holy, and blameless in their motives for service! He wants to strip away the masks of power in order to help us rely on His power and not on human created power shields!
The masks of power or wealth will quickly fade away. Job once said in Job 31:24-28:
``If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ``You are my security,’’ If I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune of my hands had gained so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.’’
6. The Mask of Spirituality - Some people are eager to pray publically in order to be seen by others as capable of assuming a spiritual demeanor. One day Jesus made an observation of such a group of people when He said, ``You Pharisees pray long prayers and you love to be in public places before men. Alas, for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you traverse sea and land to make one proselyte and when he becomes one, you make him a son of perdition twice worse than yourselves . . . for you tithe mint and let go the weightier matters of the Law - justice and mercy and fidelity. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. Blind guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.’’ (Matt. 23:23-29) They were alive to the spiritual procedures, but dead to the Spirit of God. There are many people who wear the right clothing to church, but inwardly they are spiritually corrupt. There are Christians who are full of spiritual works, but their Spiritual motivations are mainly self-centered. There is nothing easier in any religion, cultural system, or denomination than to observe the acceptable spiritual actions for the wrong reasons.
7. The Masks of Mutual Cooperation - Isn’t amazing how some people can use the lack of cooperation of certain people as a disguise for delaying a project when we are secretly against it. However, when we are in favor of something moving ahead, suddenly cooperation suddenly takes on lesser importance. I often hear young people saying, ``OH, everyone is doing it, why can’t I do it too!’’ As my Father used to tell me, ``If everyone jumped over a cliff, would you too?’’ Conformance to the expectations of others for the sake of acceptance can be a mask that inhibits the true identity of Christ coming out from our unique being. Group decisions are sometimes made in order to keep the majority happy, but they may not necessarily be in the will of God. Group decisions are binding only if one accepts the masks of mutual cooperation as a mechanisms to keep people in check. Often this mask is caused by a deep sense of dependency on others rather than on God. Some people are inwardly feeling, ``I will do whatever the authorities tell me to do as long as they take care of me!’’ This is surrendering the power of choice to people who may only want to manipulate others for their benefit. These are often people who surrender their rights, freedoms, and personhood in exchange for security, protection, and support. These people will do anything to avoid confronting the authorities so that they do not have to take full responsibilities for themselves. They are secretly trusting their families, their tribes, or their groups more than they are willing to depend on God. Often women fall into this temptation by depending on their husbands or their families for security. As a result many woman suffer deeply from a low self-image because they are relying on the mask of dependency. These folks need the encouragement to know that they have great value, abilities, and courage in them through Christ. He wants to manifests himself strongly through them, if they will remove their masks of group dependency and through their trust completely on Him. Paul told a Timothy who once battled with this dependency orientation, ``God has not you us the spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and discipline!’’ (I Tim.l:7)
Often every organization has a number of people who prefer to wear the mask of dependency as long as they do not have take responsibility for failures. They are fond of referring to decisions as ``committee or board’s decisions’’. This alleviates their fears of having to depend on God and their own sense of security for a decision when criticism comes. It takes a great deal of dedication, determination, and fortitude to put away the masks of dependency in Africa where the group tends to define individuals’ identities. Ultimately, Africans need to decide if they are going to comply with the groups decisions or the Spirit’s led decisions in deciding the will of God. These may coincide at times, but the Spirit and the word of God must always take precedence. Africans need to consider the deep implications of what Paul used as his pivotal verse in his greatest book when he said:
``Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’’ (Rom. 12:2)
8. The Masks of Individualism - IN contrast to the group masks that some wear, others insist of being their own person. This has been used as a cop out for many non-conformist who are desirous of being independent for freedoms sake. They want to present this rugged individualistic persona that is suppose to tell others that they are their own man. It is characterized by the attitude, ``I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do!’’ This mask of the self-made man or woman is a face created by many advertising agencies to sell their products. Such persons will invariably struggle with being lonely, isolated, and skewed in their own self importance. Paul reminds us, ``That there may be no discord in the body of Christ, but instead that the members may have the same concern for one another. When one members suffer, all the members share the suffering.’’ (I Cor. 12:25,26) There is no fear in love as it casts away the need to maintain the mask of individualism. We are freed to disclose our needs, thoughts, and concerns to others when we appreciate how much the Lord loves us. The greater disclosure of Christ’s love to those we are ministering to, the greater we will be loved in return. Everyone loves a lover who is willing to take his mask off and let the love of Christ shine through.
Jesus said, ``You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do they light a lamp and place it under a grain measure, but on a stand: then it shines for everyone in the house. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.’’ (Matt. 5:14-16)
9. The Masks of Subjectivity - Emotions can play amazing tricks on one’s mind. In medicine the doctors call this psychosomatic illnesses. These are diseases that the emotions of the mind condition the body to experience various symptoms such as pain, lethargy, or hypertension. Shame, anxieties, and fear have powerful influences in Africa. These are the three subjective influences that are used by others to masquerade intimidations. When certain people figure out that they can use these three subjective levers to manipulate others they put on the masks of fear, shame, or anxiety to coerce people into doing what they want them to do. These may also arise from the inner child inside of ourselves that developed as we were growing up. For example, often, I hear the inner child responding to criticism the way I did when my Father was scolding me. I felt a great deal of rejection, hostility, and antagonism for his taking out his own problems on me. This has left me with a tendency to put on a mask of subjective detachment when it is really a shield of self-defense. Masks that are emotional in nature tend to be very unreliable. Following one’s intuition can often lead one into trouble. Study the following subjective attitudes. You will notice that for every negative subjective feeling or mask that someone presents there is a positive subjective attitude that one can take to strip the negative shield away. The secret is learning how to implement the truths that ``We can do everything God asks us to do with the help of Christ who gives us the strength and power.’’ (Phil. 4:13)
Negative Subjective Masks {Can Be Overcome by} Positive Beliefs
1. Worry - vs. 1. Faith -
2. Despair vs. 2. Hope -
High expectations
3. Anger - Hatred vs. 3. Love - Caring
4. Suspicion vs. 4. Trust - Assurance
- Security
5. Cynicism vs. 5. Belief
6. Fear vs. 6. Courage
7. Sorrow vs. 7. Joy
8. Gloom vs. 8. Cheer
9. Anxiety vs. 9. Security
10. Worry vs. 10. Confidence
11. Jealousy vs. 11. Admiration
12. Resignation vs. 12. Determination
13. Inflammation vs. 13. Inspiration
14. Complaining vs. 14. Appreciations
15. Pessimism vs. 15. Optimism
16. Hostility vs. 16. Friendliness
17. Exaggerations vs. 17. Clarifications
18. Tension vs. 18. Humor
19. Self-condemnation vs. 19. Self-respect
20. Futility vs. 20. Meaningfulness
21. Enslavement vs. 21. Freedom
22. Lust vs. 22. Contentment
10. Masks of Objectivity - It is easy for some to wear the mask of objectivity by insisting that one must decide with external - factual criteria uncoloured by feelings or opinions. These are people who often use their masks of ``Official procedures, policies, or constitutional contracts to miss the essentials of love. Jesus got particularly annoyed with the Pharisees when they refused to take care of their aging parents. In Mark 7:10, 11 Jesus said, ``Honour your Father and Mother and Whoever curses father or mother let him be executed. But you, ``If a man says to his father or mother, ’What you would have received from me is Borban, that is to say consecrated to God, he is exempt. you no longer permit him to anything for his father or mother. Thus you annul God’s word through your tradition which you handed down.’’ Many people today are using the laws, rules, and regulations of their denominations, organizations, or groups to shield them from having to love their neighbor as themselves. They are using the disguise of ``Objectivism’’ as an excuse for fulfilling a most important commandment. These are people who have followed the letter of the law, but have forgotten the Spirit with which it was given! This is particularly common among highly educated people who tend to lose their concern for the sufferings of those who are less privileged. That is why Paul wrote in I Cor. 7, ``Knowledge tends to make arrogant, but love edifies!’’
11. Masks of Activity - It is common to see westerners use this mask as an excuse for shirking their most needful thing - to spend time sitting at the Lord’s feet listening to His word. (Luke 10:38-42) I knew one man who was not happy unless he was constantly on the move with a project, a new experience, or a operation to solve an important problem. These people often wear masks that measure their accomplishments by the busyness. They expect other people to be as busy as they are and criticize others when they are not. Often when you need to talk with them they are just to busy. Those who are not able to keep up with their frantic pace are left behind in the dust, ignored, forgotten, or deserted. Their intensity is obvious in everything they do since they define their self-image by the amount of their activities. Often, they tend to dominate others who are less active because they secretly feel superior for their busyness. Inwardly they feel a deep sense of insecurity which they are trying to compensate for with their work acholic frenzy. Since they are usually in a hurry, they tend to have superficial relations with others. They are controlled by the compulsion to hurry to do as many things as possible in the least amount of time. They are seldom able to sit still during long committee meetings because they feel a lot of hostility towards those who are not understanding of their need to stay busy. They need to realize that the Lord loves them even when they are flat on their back and unable to stay busy. When they lose energy they can rest in the truth that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up with wings as eagles, THEY WILL RUN AND NOT BE WEARY AND WALK AND FAINT.’’ (Isa. 40:31) When they are confident that their energies and activity levels are directed by the Lord, only then are they able to wait on the Lord and remove their masks of busyness!
