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Are You for Real?
by Wendy B McLain Who are you really? Authentic Sincere Honest True With authenticity and sincerity, in all honesty and truthfulness can you say these words mark the character nature of who you are? Do these words define your life in everything you say, everything you do and everywhere you go? Are you for real (authentic)? Can you say 'what you see is what you get' and mean it wholeheartedly (sincere)? Are you known for being a truth-teller (honest) and as someone who is trustworthy (true)? Masks We all know what a mask is. It's used to put on a different face over a real face to disguise who the real face (authentically, sincerely, honestly and truly) is behind the mask. It's also a figure of speech used to define a disguise or a pretense. The word pretense means 'an attempt to make something that is not the case appear true; a false display of feelings, attitudes or intentions.' People Pleaser's Being a people pleaser is true bondage in every sense of the word. This is a terrible trap to find yourself in. If you are trapped in this type of enslavement you must get free from it or your whole closet (soul, your sense of identity) will be overflowing with masks. Suppose let's say you wake up in the morning and you know you have to go to work for a few hours so you open your closet door and slip on your workforce mask. You then head out the door but wait a minute you realize after work you made arrangements to meet your buddy Chris for lunch. You run back in the house open the closet door and grap the mask that says Chris on it. While you're peering into the closet you notice Aunt Jane's mask hanging beside your brother Bill's mask and remember you told them both you'd swing by to see them because you only had to work a half-a-day. So you grab those also. But oh wait there's cousin Vinnie's mask right smack dab in front of your face and you're reminded you told him you'd eat dinner with him after spending some time with your family for the afternoon so you grab his mask too. So now, you've got mask #1 on your face ready for work and you're struggling to carry the other 4 as you run out the door so you're not late. Off you go to work prepared with mask on face you walk in and pretend to be someone you're not. On down the line it goes throughout the whole course of your day changing masks to please the next person you'll be entertaining. Day after day after day you repeat this same scenario struggling to carry the masks you so desperately hold onto. Jesus Christ can set you free My friend if this is the description of your life you are in bondage to people pleasing. There is hope for you in Jesus Christ. He will deliver you from this heavy weight of enslavement carried around by you everywhere you go. Invite Him to set you free from this. Nothing is easy and when something like this has been part of a person's life for so long it can seem impossible to be released from. James MacDonald from 'Walk In The Word' has a 3-part message called 'No More People Pleasing Part 1', Part 2 and Part 3. Find Him on www.oneplace.com I pray these messages will help you to take hold of the freedom found in being a Jesus pleaser and not a people pleaser. May God richly bless you and free you from these grappling chains that bind. Wendy B McLain shares her love for Jesus. Her undeniable voice of passion for the Savior of the world is seen through the kindred spirit she shares with John the Baptist who cries out among the sea of humanity to make straight the way of the Lord. Be ready for the imminent return of the King of kings and Lord of lords. She states, 'May your lamp be full of oil.' Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |