“You can’t keep your true self hidden forever.” – Jesus

The Who famously asked in one of their hit songs, “Who Are You?” (Who, who/ who, who?)

The leader of a construction crew I worked on one summer had the foulest mouth of anyone I have ever been around. His stories and jokes were not the kind you hear in Sunday School. One day, we ran into one another at the church he attended. He was a deacon there. 

His eyes grew large in that moment of recognition. He looked away and never spoke a word to me. He was a different man in different contexts. Vastly different.

Pretend Piety isn’t pretty. 

What if we behave and speak like Jesus is with us everywhere? Because you know . . .

Businesses like to avoid anything negative that would land them on the front page of the newspaper or hit the headlines on a news app. Businesses, nonprofits, and people like you and me can avoid most bad publicity by staying true to the will and ways of Jesus. His expectations are not burdensome. The results are quite often beautiful. 

We can safely discard religious masks when we begin living what we say we believe. Work Dave, Home Dave, and Grocery Store Dave should remain pretty well consistent in what he says and does. He should be as kind and generous on Monday in traffic as he is at church on Sunday. 

It’s too hard to live a double life. In one of his songs, Christian singer and cultural commentator Steve Taylor sang, “Double lives take half as long.”

Is the Real You safe to display where you live, work, and play? If not, you know what you ought to do today. Talk to Jesus about his better way. Shred your mask and throw it away.

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I will become who I ought to be.

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Our Father, make me a person who is appropriately presentable everywhere I live, work, and play. Amen.