“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” (Matthew 23:27-28 NIV)
Later today you will see kids wearing masks, disguised as ghost, goblins, ghastly creatures, gangsters, gang members, and grim horrific characters. Those are terrible masks in my opinion, but none of them earn the title of “The Worst Mask Ever.” Of course for most of the year you have seen all kinds of masks labeled as Personal Protective Care, but some of them designed by creative entrepreneurs make the wearer look fearful, fanatical, and filled with bias; bias that divides rather than unites. As terrible as some of these types of masks may be, they do not earn the title of “The Worst Mask Ever.”
Let me tell you who gets the title. The people who resemble those that Jesus speaks of in the verse above win the title. Let me be more specific, so-called church folk who act holy on the outside, but are filled with unholy thoughts, ulterior selfish motives, and unspeakable purposes; people who dress up as Christians on one day, such as tomorrow, but live a hypocritical life throughout the rest of the week; people who claim to be of the righteous, but the picture of their lives is paint another picture; a collage intertwined with all types of unrighteousness colors and iniquitous themes. They talk God, but walk as the ungodly. They speak of love for God who they have not seen, but cannot love people who they can see. These are the people who are the perennial winner of the prized title, “The Worst Mask Ever.”
This was just a thought I felt would be appropriate today. And every time you encounter a person in a costume today, I hope this reminds you not to wear masks that conceal that Christ is your Lord and Savior! Be who you really are, as described in our closing verse. Be blessed!
“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” (I Peter 2:9 NLT)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King