By Pastor Wilson Mohoanyane
God’s House Church
I have found we are concerned with who people think we are more than who we actually are. It only matters what they think we have, how they think we are doing and what they perceive us to be. We have this mask we put on often that we desperately hope people believe. We do this because we hope they will think we are better than we actually perceive ourselves to be.
The church fathers called this mask, the ego. The ego is not who we are, it is who we would like people to think we are. It is not our true self, it is the “self” we make up because we think it is better. It is to reject our true selves at the core for a “self” we do not think we will ever be. It is self hatred.
This is an attempt to convince others of the lie we do not even believe. We know deep down that we should probably become better people. Instead of becoming those better people, it is much easier to pretend we are what we are not than do the “hard work” of getting better. When we sell people on the lie that we are not who we actually are, deep down, we are resenting who we truly are.
“23:25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside of it may also become clean.”
(Matthew 23:25–26 CSB17)
The word used for hypocrite was originally used in Greek plays. One would wear a mask and embody the persona (ego) of that mask. Who are you? You are not the mask. You may be person hiding behind the mask and putting on a show. However, the show is exhausting and will strain everything from you and leave you without peace.
Jesus says, “First clean the inside of the cup.” By this, he means we must first become clean in the inside before we attempt to look clean on the outside. We must first have a personal, transformative and living relationship with him then the “outside will be clean.” There is no need to preoccupy yourself with who people think you are. Preoccupy yourself with being the “you” that God made you to be and all things will fall in place!