Whats In Your Closet?
Many of us treat life like a closet full of clothes. Everyday we wake up we put on an identity. Its like clothes we wear we find what we would look best in so that others would percieve us in a way we desire. This wardrobe we have of many identities is used to mask the nakedness of who we really are. I remember a time I was so ashamed of who I was so I made up an identity of my own to cover my suffering and problems. I was in a foster home between the ages of 10-20. People would ask me about my mother like "Where does She work"? I would respond with an answer that was so far beyond the truth like "Oh..She's an accountant"...lol. Its ridiculous. It got soo bad that I really wanted to be accepted to the point that I was lying about where I was from, who my dad was and a whole gammit of things. In reality, I was looking for something to give me worth and acceptance and I felt that if I let people know who I really am they wouldnt love me or wouldn't befriend me. This was my wardrobe. I awoke every morning to fit in an identity that wasn't mine. These were clothes my true figure couldn't fit. Matter of fact, the longer I lied the seams of the stitch tore worse and worse until the truth of who I was had been revealed. Even as a Christian I see that "theology" or "goodworks" in and of themselves are wardrobes. We make it that way. You can have acceptance among christian circles if you know how to break down the doctrine of "election" or "Christology" and if you are a descent person. These things are good but we corrupt it when it is used for our personal gain: acceptance. Whats in your closet??
Ditch the Mask Please
When life is open and exposed to others there is no room for hypocrisy. My family and I live with two single men and they witness our family problems, conflicts and good times. This type of living demands openess and honesty with our lives. I think most of us avoid deeper relationships for this very reason. We would rather live closed, safe and secure lives as long as no one knows your dirt right? I think the biggest challenge is if the people whom you are engaged with in relationship has the capacity of love to be faithful no matter what. This is very seldom. If so, wouldnt you think you would be more comfortable by commiting your secrets, thoughts, honest opinions, history, time, money etc. to the deepening of rich and wholesome relationships with people. Authenticity is a lost cause in our culture. Everyone has an image or an expectation that they are striving to live up to. If we look a bit closer, none of us meet those expectations that we have for others so we mask ourselves to have it. We are a people afraid of rejection. This prevents us from pursuing relationships with people even though we are social beings and naturally crave relationship. But first we must ditch the mask and be willing to let people see us for who we truly are.
