There she is. She is a beautiful site to say the least! No matter what the weather looks like, no mater what mood I'm in, I always seem to think the same thing when I look at her from here. There is just something special about the view of the Chattanooga valley from high atop Missionary Ridge. I've traveled much of the world and no doubt there were many beautiful places that I've seen, but there always seems to be a calming and peaceful effect that I feel as I drive along this winding scenic road gazing at the view along the way. The truth is that I've almost run off the side of this big ridge more than once because my attention was more on the scene below rather than on the road ahead like it should have been.
As beautiful as the view is from here, I still know that when I look closely enough I can pick out certain areas in the city that are far from calm, outside of some of the people that live there you can see no real beauty, and there are real life and death struggles going on. These are facts that are evident to anyone that lives in or around Chattanooga. Without a doubt, these are what many call the "Lower Class"or "Ghetto" sections of the city where the crime rate is so very high that I would not dare to drive through them without an awful good reason!
On the other hand, up here where I am now and looking across to the mountains on the other side of town, it's another story. Behind the royal looking gates with their adjoining extravagant fences, there are the so called "High Class" neighborhoods where all seems to go perfectly for the residents there. The beautiful homes with immaculate lawns, the fancy cars, the fine clothes, memberships in the perfect clubs, and those that are associated with the largest, most elaborate churches in the area, are all part of the physical makeup for most of those that reside on top of the high terrain. What a wonderful life it must be to live in a place with seemingly no problems and lots of money!
Then as you continue to look below you can let your eyes travel out further to the suburbs on every side and you will find the scenario remains mostly the same, except that in many cases the money may not flow quite as freely, but they are still considered to be the "Middle to Upper Class" areas.
So what is the one thing that we could all possibly have in common? Get ready...here it is...it's MASK! From the so called "Lower Class" ghettos, to the so called "Middle Class" suburbs, to the so called "High Class" people on the ridges and mountain tops, we all have our mask that we put on to cover the real lives that we're living. Here's a news flash! No matter what you have, or what your position or status is, or where you live, people are really hurting and hiding! For some reason we as human kind want to give the appearance that we are always doing fine. We want others to think that we are always completely happy and fulfilled and we are where we want to be. But I gotta tell ya, I would go so far as to say that if I were a betting man... I would bet that you...yes you...are not always living the way you portray yourself to others, nor am I. Most likely you are either hurting in some way now, or you have recently gone through things that have caused you a lot of pain. I would also bet that there are things in your life that you are hiding...things that you prefer to keep to yourself. You may have not shared this pain or secret with anyone because you think ..."Who would really care or who would really understand?" I wonder...if we could see into your house and then deeper into your soul what would we see? If you could look into mine, what would you see?
So in order to be seen as one that has it all together, or one that has the "great trouble free home" where everything is just hunky dory...we put on our mask. Behind the smiles, behind the stuff we buy and care for, behind our clubs, behind the schools we attend, behind our jobs, and even behind our church memberships...we hide the truth. Its sad but even on Sunday mornings we venture into our churches and the mask are everywhere! From the minute we walk into the door we smile and ask each other "How are you today?" Then we all respond "Great...and you?" Usually the conversations are brief and forgive me but in many instances they are not truthful. I can hear you saying..."John, are you saying that we are telling lies in church?" Well...um...I guess...that would be a yep! Okay calm down, I know we are just being polite and we feel that we do not want to air out our dirty laundry for all to see, but the truth is that we are not being truthful when we cover up and say all is well when it is not. No, church should not be a place of whining and complaining, God forbid there are enough people that want to gripe and complain on a regular basis, but it should be a place to drop our mask and to be real with each other!Why can't we be honest when things are not going well or when our life burdens are heavy and say, "No, things are not fine...I would love for you to remember me in your prayers." No explanation necessary. Christians should be willing to pray for you without having all the facts. Those that need all the facts are usually the church gossips and they are the last ones that you should share your needs with. Its up to you, and you alone to say how much you want others to know about your struggles, but we still need to share without fear.
Here is the bottom line, we simply need to work at dropping the mask and at being "real" in our lives. As most know, I am far from having it "all together" and most likely you have your moments too! Many of our children do not want what we have spiritually because they are waiting for us to be real. They see our actions everyday at home and then they see how we act in front of others...they see our mask and frankly...I believe it turns them off! I believe that they actually lose a little more respect for us each time they see us put on our mask in front of others. However, there could be one thing worse than turning off our children by our hypocrisy and that would be if our children decide to play the same church type games that many of us have done.
I'm not trying to be harsh or critical, just realistic. Maybe we could start in our homes by communicating our feelings in an honest kind way rather than hiding our feelings and just hoping the other person figures out what we are not communication. Sometimes we are simply manipulating others in order to get our own way instead of honest communication. I know that there are always two sides to every story. But that should show us that we should do our best to see things from other person's perspective too in order to react properly. I admit that I have a hard time doing that myself at times, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to be open and honest.
Wouldn't it be great to be able to drop the mask in our churches in order to share without fear of not fitting in, or without the fear of being judged, or becoming the object of the "gossip chain"? Pastors, leaders, and teachers need the same freedom to drop the mask too. Many times we expect too much perfection of them and their families. Of all the places in the world where we should be able to share and seek help without fear, regardless of our pain, sin, or failures, it should be the church. But, that is where we seem to hide the most!
It will take effort by serious individuals that are willing to drop the mask. It will be those that really want to stop "playing the game of church" in order for "realness" to become a reality in our churches and at home as well. Maybe we need to drop the high expectations that we place on each other. We, at times expect more than is humanly possible. People have to grow spiritually by learning from those that have already traveled the road before and they will never learn if we hide and act like we have arrived without ever having a care.
Now is the time to turn our attention inward to see what's behind our own mask. Being "unmasked" or "real" can be very scary because we are afraid that others will think less of us, but without it we are simply living a lie and we lose our effectiveness. I'm not saying that we should be bluntly harsh and unkind by he way we honestly speak the truth to others. The bible says to speak the truth in love; I'm simply talking about being honest as to who you really are and what you are dealing with in life. Maybe it's time to ask God to help reveal to us the mask that we unknowingly wear and then ask for help removing them. I've got my mask that I'm working on just like you even though you may or may not see them.
Don't forget that just like the beautiful Chattanooga valley below, our view from a distance appears calm and beautiful, but when we look closely it is evident there definitely is one thing that we all have in common. We all are hiding at some point or other behind our mask. I believe it's way past time to take em' off!
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