Behind the mask
The masked outlaws were apprehended and thrown into jail. Another “masked” man stood at the front of the sheriff’s office, shaking the sheriff’s hand. As he mounted his horse, someone asked, “Who is that “masked” man?” Without hesitation someone else replied, “Don’t you know? That’s the Lone Ranger!”
On another occasion, several children prepared for a special occasion. Costumes were incomplete without their donning their “masks!” Interestingly enough, costumes, masks and all, many of those children could be readily identified by other known personal characteristics. And children are not alone. Adults also have mastered the art and practice of wearing masks – often to portray and project other desired images of oneself. Various cultures have included “mask wearing” as part of their social and religious ceremonies. The Negro poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar, in his poem “We Wear the Mask,” emphasized various situations and circumstances where Black folk have had to acclimate to their social, economic and political circumstances by “masking” themselves to suit other ethnic groups. He also indicated the impact that forced expectations made on the “mask wearers!”
It is interesting that a person’s true identity and characteristics can easily be hidden by a mask. And for various reasons and purposes, we all have learned to “wear the mask!” It doesn’t really matter what color, shapes or designs – masks either hide the person wearing them, or, in some cases, they provide the opportunity for the “mask-wearer” to play a different role in Life. Masks can be deceptive, and they can also be projective! But the reality comes when the ”mask-wearer” has to discard his mask and resume his or her real persona. And the real person is revealed! How many lives, marriages and careers have been destroyed because the “real” person “behind the mask” was revealed?
Earlier column:Who really is God?
In a world where “mask-wearing” is heightened with cosmetics and makeup, the desire to present oneself in a manner quite different from the “real” you or me has become a type of norm. Teenage girls often seek to “mask” themselves in ways quite different from their normal appearances. Teenage boys seek to “mask” themselves as grown men. Ironically, many adults seek to “recapture” their memories, even fantasies of the past, by “masking” themselves as younger persons.
Unfortunately, the revealing words of William Shakespeare are lost in the ego shuffle. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The real question is, “Who is the real person behind the mask?” Who really are you?
I venture to say that the real you and me is revealed when we step out of the bathtub! Then, all elements of “masking” are eliminated! For Adam and Eve it was that moment when the fig leaves were removed! God’s introspective question to them was much deeper than their acknowledging their location. Wherever they went in the Garden they were still those creatures divinely endued and imbued with the image of God! But behind the “fig leaf masks,” they sought to become what they were not!
And they could not become what they sought to be. Yes, Shakespeare, a soul behind any fig leaf mask, regardless how I may appear to self and others, would still be a soul! A soul created and fashioned by God to appear and function in time and eternity to his satisfaction!
More:Rev. Samuel W. Hale Jr.: Looking at the real you
Every God created soul has an image, a persona, that ought meet its creator’s purpose. The lyrics of a Gospel song state that God “looks beyond our faults and sees our needs.” The challenge to every soul – you and me – is to discard every “mask” of human design and intent and to enhance and portray the image of God within us.
When we start projecting the image that God intended for each of us, then the real you and me will be revealed! People will be able to see and interact with real you and me, and not just the you and me we want others to see, experience and appreciate.
Uncle Remus gave some simplistic advise to everyone:
“Be what you is. Don’t be what you ain’t, cause when you is what you ain’t, you isn’t!’
Take off your masks! Be the real you – the you that God created you to be and to become! Until then, the real you will continue to live unfulfilled — behind the mask!
The Rev. Samuel W. Hale, Jr. is the retired pastor of Zion Missionary Baptist Church.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Rev. Samuel W. Hale Jr.: Behind the mask
