Sunday 29 April 2007

Sunday's Screen

I love to peak people's curiosity (part of the pot stirrer in me)...others like to have their curiosity peaked. Have you ever wondered why we wear a mask. Who me? You know the one I mean, the one that hides some of those area/areas that we do not feel comfortable sharing with a small group of very close friends, let alone your spouse. We all have a mask, some just use different make-up or camouflage, while some of us have plenty of wardrobe to choose from :) Even me (I mean who knew I was a pot stirrer till this week). Yes I have a few...heck I have been told that the beard even counts as one. I'm going to shave right after I am done here. My guess is we wear the masks from not getting hurt by telling people what we are hiding. When you watch the news a lot of times you hear neighbours being interviewed about the guy who lived on the same block as them who was arrested for murder, and most of the time they say, "he kept to himself a lot", or "he was just a quiet guy, minding his own business". That guy could be me ;). We obviously can't put all quiet, shy people into this category of murderers, my point here is to show the mask that hides the deep within stuff that can't be shared for fear of being shunned, etc from friends and family. It is interesting to note that people can share anything with people they meet on the Internet, but not the people they know. They feel that no judgement is passed for what they are saying. We need to have a safe place that people can come and share whatever is on their heart. Oh yeah, we have the church. I remember reading "What so amazing about grace" and one of the lines in the book was something like "I don't want to go to church, I feel guilty enough". I am not looking for you to take off your mask/masks here by blogging this, just more of a point that there are lots of people with a lot of stuff in their lives that is causing their hurts. Therefore, to steal a friends quote, "Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle".

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Mike, it really isn't my quote ... it is, I believe, a japanese proverb. I am glad you like it. It is so true though. People everywhere have some kind of hurt they are working through. And I suppose you are right that it causes one to wear a mask to cover the hurt. Vulnerablity can be a scary thing. Is it not the purpose of the church though to create a safe and loving environment which irradicates the need for masks? I know we fall short, but I still think that is Christ's intention. I like your thought provoking blogs!
deb