Remove Your Mask

Enemies use their words as a mask. They hide their evil plans in their hearts. (Proverbs 26:24 NIRV)

Scripture identifies an enemy as someone who masks his true intentions. Generally speaking, a mask is used to hide our real self. 

1.Ego is Used to Mask Our Imperfections
Just as a mask is used to hide or mask our real self, the ego is used to mask our imperfections. In our effort to present ourselves as the greatest and the smartest, we often mask our true natures. When we are driven by ego, we may feel the need to constantly prove ourselves to others and demonstrate our worth. This can lead us to put on a facade and present ourselves in a way that is not authentic or genuine. 

We may try to mask our flaws and insecurities and only show others our strengths and accomplishments. This can be exhausting and ultimately unfulfilling, as it requires us to constantly maintain a persona that may not be true to ourselves. 

Eventually, people will discover that what they see on social media profiles is not the same you in reality. So what happens when the cover is dropped? Ask yourself, "Is the pursuit of likes and comments worth sacrificing your authenticity."

Ten-something filters, over-edited pictures, while these stunts get more likes on social profiles, ask yourself, "Is this really me?" Many young people (and even the young at heart) struggle with the insecurity of their appearance and personality and are constantly trying to project someone they are not in real life. The truth is that there is no reality on social media. 

Eventually, people will discover that what they see on social media profiles is not nearly the same in reality. So what happens when the cover is dropped? Ask yourself, "Is the pursuit of likes and comments worth sacrificing your authenticity."

All this effort to present ourselves as the "greatest and smartest" may actually end up distancing us from others and preventing us from forming meaningful and transparent relationships. 

I know of someone who wrote to me saying, “Pastor, I am totally addicted to Instagram. Even when I get up at night to go to the washroom, I check my posts to check how many hearts and comments my post has garnered. And if, for some reason, there are fewer hearts and comments, I feel totally dissatisfied. And then, the next day, I am frustrated and depressed. I am always looking to post something better, something different that will give me more hearts, more comments and follows. 

In Genesis 27, Jacob wanted the blessing, and he wanted it very badly. He then masked himself and tried to present himself as someone else. 

¹⁸ So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said. “Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?” ¹⁹ Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.” (Genesis 27:18-19 NLT)

He got what he wanted by putting on a mask, but it ended up straining his relationship with his brother Esau. Esau later tried to kill Jacob. This is what happens when you are trying to project an image of who you are not. 

Sometime back, a unique case came to me. A girl and a boy met online. The girl really liked the boy and so faked some information about herself to the boy. That she was a graduate and some other things, they got married, and after two months, the truth was discovered. The parents of the boy were enraged and were asking their son to divorce her. There were constant fights in that home. Even if you love someone so dearly, don’t put on a mask to hide your true self or else you may end up losing that person forever. 

The ego is the most destructive force that can bring irreparable damage to the soul. You can put on a mask before people, but you cannot put on a mask before God - before God, you need to be transparent. 

2. Ego Hinders People From Genuine Repentance
There is genuine repentance, and then there is fake repentance. Have you met people who find it hard to say sorry? They rather excuse their faults and call them weaknesses. “That’s the way I am, that’s the way I speak; I have nothing in my heart - don’t use these excuses to mark your faults.”

Such people also struggle to seek repentance. The truth is mercy is not an action by God; it is God's nature. His mercy towards man is unending. He knows our limitations and our strife for perfection, so, He made provision for us to seek mercy. Jesus shed His blood so we can always access God's mercy through His blood. Like the bathing soap that cleans out the physical body, Jesus' blood cleanses our hearts and conscience. 1 John 1:7 says, "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Now the truth also is that we only receive forgiveness when we repent. 1 John 1:9-10 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."

When the prodigal son returned to the father, he said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” In other words, he said sorry to his father. Now the father was not even paying attention and ordered his servants to bring the finest robe, ring and sandals. Likewise, by saying sorry when you mess up, you will only strengthen your relationships. 

I want to give you a prophetic instruction. For the next seven days, you must pray together as a family. If you have already been praying as a family, then continue doing so regularly. Walls between family members are going to fall flat, and the life-giving river of the Holy Spirit is going to touch every person in your family. 

Judas
No one names their children Judas, and there is a good reason for that. The name Judas seems to be used as a synonym for traitor, and yet Judas was so close to Jesus. He operated powerfully in the anointing. He cast out demons and healed the sick. And if that was not enough, Jesus made him the finance manager of his ministry. Actually, in my opinion, Matthew was more suited to the task of financial management because he was in the revenue department of the government then. He was officially appointed as a tax collector. 

But there was a problem that Judas had. He regularly pilfered money from the offerings that Jesus received in the ministry. And yet he never confessed his weakness to Jesus. He probably started with small amounts and brushed his weakness off as nothing really serious small. He regularly sat next to the One through whom all things were made in this universe (Colossians 1:16) and never thought of bringing this issue up. You think Jesus did not know about it, and yet Judas never said ‘sorry”.

What stopped Judas from saying ‘sorry’? What stopped Judas from confessing his weakness to the Saviour? I believe it was his ego, and in the end, he lost his anointing, his ministry and his calling - he lost it all. 

The Bible says in Matthew 27:3-5, "Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!" Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple, departed, and hanged himself." The weight of his ego was overwhelming; he preferred to die than repent.

Let me ask you a question. What are the things you have lost all because of ego? What are the things you could lose because of your ego?

3.Ego Makes us Conclude that we are Always Right
Ego makes us conclude that we are always right. It tells us that the other person is at fault. 

Saul
Take a look at Saul’s life. Once Saul got the job as king, he indulged his ego and made decisions that even the masses could see through and reject. Saul even threatened to kill his own son Jonathan as the result of a rash oath, but the people shut him down and saved his son. (1 Samuel 14)

Saul was so consumed by his ego that he literally begged the prophet Samuel to help massage his ego before the people. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 15:28-30, "So Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbour of yours, who is better than you. And also, the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent." Then he said, "I have sinned; yet honour me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God."

He was more concerned about what people felt about him than what God had to say. Instead, he used the energy he could have used to plead for mercy to polish his ego. 

Eli
Eli was a priest in Israel whom God loved and covenanted that his house would serve in the priesthood capacity forever. But unfortunately, he lost the humility to caution his children, and then God judged him. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 2:29-33, "Therefore the Lord God of Israel says:'I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the Lord says:'Far be it from Me; for those who honour Me I will honour, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house so that there will not be an old man in your house. And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house forever. But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. 

Now after hearing this verdict, let's see Eli's response. 1 Samuel 3:18 says, "Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him." Can you imagine that? This is one prideful statement. The devil bloated his ego, and he could not see himself repenting or seek for forgiveness. 

satan
We all know satan was once a decorated angel serving before God. But he allowed pride into his heart, and he was sent down. Now let's read the following verses about the devil. The Bible says in Revelations 12:7-9, "And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." 

In Revelations 12:12, the Bible says, "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." 

Here is the question: Would God have forgiven him if satan had repented of his action? Think about God's nature and just for a moment, take your mind off the devil's evil nature and imagine him pleading for mercy. I believe mercy is one prayer that God would never turn down. But his ego pushed him further away from God's presence, waiting for eternal destruction. 

4.Ego Makes us Misinterpret the Scripture to Suit our Actions
We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don't manoeuvre and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don't twist God's Word to suit ourselves. (2 Corinthians 4:1 MSG)

If you read Mark 7, Lord Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they disobeyed God's commands twisting scripture to obey human traditions. They would let people get by without helping their parents when they should. They would let them say that what they own had been offered to God. In this way, they let those people escape helping their parents. (Mark 7:8-11)

Even today, there are people who misinterpret scripture not because they know something better but because of their ego. It is the ego that stops many from receiving the truth of God’s word.

God has a way of getting the right word to us at the right time. Let’s say you had an issue at home. In the morning, when you check your phone for WhatsApp messages, you get the same word that you need. You brush it off as a mere coincidence. You put on the television, and the preacher on television is preaching to you. With God, there are no coincidences; there are only encounters. 

Some people walk to their pastors and leaders for advice and counselling, and after hearing the truth, the ego in them tells them to walk away. Instead of repenting and making amends, they walk away as though nothing happened. Ego gives a man itching ears that only want to hear praises and hates it when you correct them. This is the bait the enemy uses to lure us from God's grace.

Don't fall into the bait of ego that hinders people from asking for mercy. No matter how far you've gone, your life is greater than your reputation. Come straight and make it right. Accept your fault and receive God's mercy. Your worth does not need to be proven. No matter how stained you are, Jesus' blood is able to wash those sins away.