Have you seen someone so 'plastic' that you wonder what is still real about them? They have such an obsession with their appearance that they enhance that, reduce something else, go through that lift or tuck, pulling tighter and tighter, until what once was recognizable as that person is something quite different from the original! You might say they are a little 'two-faced'. Two-faced is just another way of saying someone is "fake". What you see isn't the real-deal. The tendency of these individuals is to act one way when they are with certain people and then a totally different way when with others. Their set of values can fluctuate based on the circumstance or opportunity. They lack consistency and are always changing depending on the whim of the moment. In time, they are harder and harder to 'recognize' because they are so inconsistent!
I hate the two-faced, but I love your clear-cut revelation. (Psalm 119:113)
I know a great many of us have the tendency to conceal our "defects" so that we APPEAR more "put together" than we really are! Somehow, in the "made up" presentation of ourselves, we portray what we think others will see as a better, or perfect picture of us than they'd really see if they saw us as we really are. The problem with this tendency to be two-faced is our inability to always have the "right" 'face' on at the right time! It gets harder to juggle our 'untrue' selves than it would actually have been to just remain true to who we really are! Do you realize just how much "void" there is in our lives without having the Word of God as our guide? Whenever we choose to wear a mask instead of being "real"- we seek to conceal, hide, or not trust. God's exact mission in our life is to reveal what we might seek to conceal because he knows change is only possible through truthful revelation!
I have done more than my share of "mask-wearing" in my day. My friends probably saw right through my lame attempt to cover up some defect in my character I was not very proud of at different times. There is a fairly common catchphrase which I think sets us up for failure - "Fake it till you make it". I think this little phrase is riddled with all kinds of difficulty. In actuality, we are telling someone (maybe ourselves) to "imitate confidence" until that confidence produces some form of success or positive outcome in our lives. In turn, that imitation of confidence will generate some real confidence. The only problem with this is the idea of continuing to imitate or fake what we don't really possess. God is very clear in his Word that we possess ALL THINGS in Christ Jesus. There is no need for imitation when we have the real thing!
When 'faking it' enters into the realm of "belief", we are telling ourselves one thing, but the facts speak differently. For example, we may tell ourselves we are not feeling depressed, so we make ourselves do things people do who are NOT depressed - like being with others, cleaning the house, getting out of bed. We are trying to convince ourselves one thing is true, but in reality the real thing in control is the feeling that we ARE depressed. Belief is clearly not enough to bring about full deliverance - it may be the beginning of hope, but it is not enough to sustain us through bad times. We need the reality of changed feelings to realize deliverance from our depressed state. It is only as we tap into the strength that God gives, the Christ-empowered determination of mind / will / and emotions, that our deliverance comes. "With God, ALL things are possible!" This is the basis of our belief - but the walking out of this belief is in the daily, moment-by-moment reliance upon God's enabling to walk strong!
There is a definite "void" in our lives whenever we begin to rely upon self instead of God. Two-faced living is really a place of extreme void - we are attempting to cover what we are really powerless to change, or don't realize needs changing. It is in the revelation of our true self where change becomes a reality. In the moment of revelation, we are able to behold our true condition, reach out to God for help, and then begin to behold new and bolder life choices through his eyes. In those moments, change begins. We may cry out for change in our lives, but until we remove the masks of "creative cover-up" we have been hiding behind, no change will come. As we learn to value the revelation that comes through the Word, trusting God to assist us in the changes we so desperately desire, we step into a new freedom of being "real". What a freeing thing living without masks can be! Just sayin!
I hate the two-faced, but I love your clear-cut revelation. (Psalm 119:113)
I know a great many of us have the tendency to conceal our "defects" so that we APPEAR more "put together" than we really are! Somehow, in the "made up" presentation of ourselves, we portray what we think others will see as a better, or perfect picture of us than they'd really see if they saw us as we really are. The problem with this tendency to be two-faced is our inability to always have the "right" 'face' on at the right time! It gets harder to juggle our 'untrue' selves than it would actually have been to just remain true to who we really are! Do you realize just how much "void" there is in our lives without having the Word of God as our guide? Whenever we choose to wear a mask instead of being "real"- we seek to conceal, hide, or not trust. God's exact mission in our life is to reveal what we might seek to conceal because he knows change is only possible through truthful revelation!
I have done more than my share of "mask-wearing" in my day. My friends probably saw right through my lame attempt to cover up some defect in my character I was not very proud of at different times. There is a fairly common catchphrase which I think sets us up for failure - "Fake it till you make it". I think this little phrase is riddled with all kinds of difficulty. In actuality, we are telling someone (maybe ourselves) to "imitate confidence" until that confidence produces some form of success or positive outcome in our lives. In turn, that imitation of confidence will generate some real confidence. The only problem with this is the idea of continuing to imitate or fake what we don't really possess. God is very clear in his Word that we possess ALL THINGS in Christ Jesus. There is no need for imitation when we have the real thing!
When 'faking it' enters into the realm of "belief", we are telling ourselves one thing, but the facts speak differently. For example, we may tell ourselves we are not feeling depressed, so we make ourselves do things people do who are NOT depressed - like being with others, cleaning the house, getting out of bed. We are trying to convince ourselves one thing is true, but in reality the real thing in control is the feeling that we ARE depressed. Belief is clearly not enough to bring about full deliverance - it may be the beginning of hope, but it is not enough to sustain us through bad times. We need the reality of changed feelings to realize deliverance from our depressed state. It is only as we tap into the strength that God gives, the Christ-empowered determination of mind / will / and emotions, that our deliverance comes. "With God, ALL things are possible!" This is the basis of our belief - but the walking out of this belief is in the daily, moment-by-moment reliance upon God's enabling to walk strong!
There is a definite "void" in our lives whenever we begin to rely upon self instead of God. Two-faced living is really a place of extreme void - we are attempting to cover what we are really powerless to change, or don't realize needs changing. It is in the revelation of our true self where change becomes a reality. In the moment of revelation, we are able to behold our true condition, reach out to God for help, and then begin to behold new and bolder life choices through his eyes. In those moments, change begins. We may cry out for change in our lives, but until we remove the masks of "creative cover-up" we have been hiding behind, no change will come. As we learn to value the revelation that comes through the Word, trusting God to assist us in the changes we so desperately desire, we step into a new freedom of being "real". What a freeing thing living without masks can be! Just sayin!
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