How Difficult Is It to Hide Who You Really Are?

There are special occasions when dressing up in costumes and wearing a mask is acceptable and fun. Every year young and not so young children come knocking at the door holding out their bags expecting to receive a treat.

A high school student told me he put on an imaginary mask to pretend he was happy and all was well at home. He was forbidden to tell friends his parents were separated with divorce impending. Facades and false impressions rarely hide the real person.

The good news is it’s impossible to hide and cover up who you are from God because he knows your heart, mind and soul. Think about it: if others can see through your facades and false impressions, how much more in depth does God see you? God’s unconditional love tells you to take off the mask and come to him just as you are and make a new beginning free of falsehoods and cover-ups.

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 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.  

~2 Chronicles 16:9 English Standard Version 

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What Do Parents Need Most from Their Children?

Child development professionals affirm an important reinforcement for successful parenting is a child’s innate desire to please the parents. Parents desire to please their children by providing the necessities of life and meeting their reasonable desires.

Of course, parents love their children, and children respond favorably to that love by returning affection and obeying rules and boundaries. The desire to please is motivated by a deep, intrinsic need to make favorable impressions on others.

Parents need for their children to make good impressions on grandparents, friends, teachers and peer groups. Yet children learn to create facades and false impressions to cover up dissatisfaction with the person they are becoming. 

Genesis 1 informs us we were created in God’s image, and this truth serves as a reminder that God’s love purifies us from all that has contaminated our heart and soul.                      

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My friends, watch out! Don’t let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called “today.” If you don’t, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn… “If you hear his voice today, don’t be stubborn like those who rebelled.”  

~Hebrews 3:12-13,15 Contemporary English Version

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Is It Possible to Change from Giving False Impressions?

Living with false impressions is a way to cope with life when feelings of dissatisfaction with one’s personal identity are on display. A person may masquerade in sheep’s clothing to hide a ferocious wolf’s intent to deceive, according to Matthew 7:15.

The objective is to cover up distasteful character or behavioral flaws. Character flaws exist in each person, much to our dismay. However, each Christian should desire to live for Christ Jesus, but coping with character flaws can be discouraging.

The Christian life is an ever-maturing quest in need of God’s grace and restoration. False impressions cover up weaknesses of character capable of surfacing at any moment. The best defense against false impressions is to permit honesty and truth to saturate your consciousness. Honesty encased in humility reflects Christ Jesus within you. This is your best hope. 

                    

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You will earn the respect and trust of others if you work for good; if you work for evil, you’re making a mistake. ~ Proverbs 14:22 Good News Bible  

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How Difficult Is It to Remain Faithful to Jesus Christ?

Saying one thing but meaning something else gives a false impression of who you are and your purpose for living. Taking false impressions to the extreme, the terrorists of 911 masqueraded as guests, but their intent was to kill and destroy.

While the majority of false impressions do not fit into this extreme category, the intent is to mislead or cover up the truth. Pretentious and deceitful attitudes easily equate to a fake identity that conceals the actual person behind a disguise.

Jesus told about pretentious individuals who appear safe and harmless but are wolves masquerading as sheep. Every aspect of who you are communicates a strong message to others. It’s imperative to consistently live for Christ Jesus. 

Some authorities strongly mandate, “to yourself be true,” while the major objective of the Christian is for you to always “be true to the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

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Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of our heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

 ~Proverbs 3:3-4 New International Version

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What Is Your Preferred Way of Communicating?

How do we communicate? Obviously with language, although not with words alone; the way words are formulated to give meaning to a message are important. The intonation and pitch of your voice and your body language are powerful communication tools.

Looks can be deceptive, such as a smile that communicates a nice greeting while hiding negative feelings and intentions. Everyone knows what it means to give or receive a simple smile, pretending all is well – when it isn’t.

Pretending might serve an immediate purpose, but reality will have to be faced. Psalm 31:5 refers to God as the “God of truth.” John 1:14 portrays Jesus as “full of grace and truth.” Self-evaluations are needed so God’s truth can correct questionable behavior patterns. Asking God for truth, facing that truth, and living with truth form a strategy for overcoming the need to give false impressions.                

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What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words. 

~Proverbs 18:21 Good News Bible  

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Can False Impressions of Self Be Overcome?

It’s not unthinkable to speculate that each person has deliberately given a false impression about a specific aspect of their life. The purpose of false impressions is to influence others to see something other than your true self.

Mary Ann Evans, writing under the pseudonym of George Elliot, observed that “Life is too precious to spend in weaving and unweaving false impressions.” False impressions are designed to influence what others think and believe.

Self-centeredness drives false impressions, but future accountability cannot be disregarded. Ephesians 5:5 states that “no immoral person will have an inheritance in the kingdom of God.”

The first step in turning away from false impressions is to permit the purifying light of Jesus Christ to cleanse the core of your soul. When tempted to fall back into sin, immediately correct yourself. The power of God in Christ Jesus will help you repent and be forgiven.                        

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Love [for Christ Jesus] should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head of the body. Christ ... becomes strong because of [His] love.  

~Ephesians 4:15-16 Contemporary English Version  

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How Valuable Is Trust to Relationships?

What purpose does genuine trust serve in relationships and every area of life? Trust is the foundation on which governments, societies, work and family life are anchored. Trust is the navigational system that guides us through daily activities.

Think how we trust public agencies to provide electricity and safe water. False trust believes these will never fail. Proverbs 25:14 describes those who deceive as being like clouds that promise needed rain but are empty of moisture.

What purpose does portraying yourself falsely accomplish? Enticing others with false trust may produce momentary gain but predictably end in sorrow. Accountability that’s anchored in trust for God welcomes without hesitation Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, to thoroughly search the heart for falsehood. Peace comes to opening your life to that light.          

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When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise. In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid.  

~Psalm 56:3-4 New American Standard Bible  

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