Seeing Past the Mask

I'll always remember my "good friend" who wore a hideous, grotesque mask, and woke me up at 3am with it on. I don't think I was EVER so scared in all my life.

What a friend he was!!

Masks have been used for centuries for several different purposes, ranging from religious practices to deceitful tactics. The primary purpose for a mask is to hide the true identity of oneself. Most masks cover up what people would rather leave unseen, or to make someone else believe they are someone/something different than who they really are.

With a few years of youth ministry under my belt, I have come to realize that MOST teenagers wear masks. Whether it's a temporary mask while they deal with a particular situation, or a permanent mask to hide the pain and reality of their lives, at some point, students will probably put on a mask. Those students are the ones who sit in your youth services. They are the ones who rise the church van. They are the ones whose Mom and Dad attend church on a regular basis. They don't want people to know what's really underneath the smile, and the facade. They choose to hide their feelings and emotions with a fear of ridicule or even rejection. They choose isolation rather than transparency, and sometimes I feel that it is something WE unconsciously promote.

"Smile through the bad times." We preach it and teach it. It creates the thought process that no matter what I go through, I have to act like everything is okay. This kind of thinking is unhealthy in the long run.

We are putting band-aids on a situation that needs surgery.

What we really need to do is teach them to be vulnerable, and sensitive. Expose the reality and the pain, and let God heal them, rather than us just giving them a temporary fix. That's God's desire anyway, not just to temporarily heal, but to make them whole. To restore things to them that they have lost. Who are we to tell them to smile in spite of the pain? It's time we as Youth Pastors see past the masks and facades, see the reality, and lead them to the healer.