Theater Masks that Hypocrites Wore in Ancient Days

The example of the actor mentioned above and Charlie Sheen reminded me that the word hypocrite comes from the Greek word (hypokrisis) which means to 'Act-out'. In fact, the actors and actresses in early Greece were called Hypocrites.  The early actors would hold up physical faces in front of their real face and act-out the character they were playing.

This reminded me that in the confused world we are living, people are much more prone to 'act-out' a personality that God did not create for them.  When people act out or imitate a false life, it may be only a matter of time before surreality intersects their life, and they can no longer remember who they really are. During this intersection of surreality with their actions, they become the very person they are acting-out.  If the mask they are wearing is different than who they were created by God to be, they will eventually turn out to resemble the 'masked' person, rather than the person they were designed to become.  The intersection of surreality and life has become accelerated and magnified  in our society as the 'pretend' world is much more easy to follow when we are trying to escape the pain, disappointments, or hurts of societies current reality.

As  the world becomes more complicated and stressful, people naturally try to cope with the stress by 'acting-out' or pretending themselves to be someone they are not.  This is one of the reasons that Facebook, MySpace and other social networks have been such as smashing hit. They allow people to create an online image of themselves that connects with people more readily than they could in real life. Within a matter of days they are connecting with new and old friends that they could not do in their 'real' life.

The more we act-out to be someone that we are not, the worse our life can become. The reason is simply that we are circumventing the person God created us to become. In addition, whenever we put a 'mask' over our hurts, pains, and sorrows the more that the 'Mask' gets the attention vs. the real person.  If I need to be healed, delivered or set free, I need the real me healed vs. the mask that I am wearing healed. This explains why so many people never get healed, delivered or set-free. The mask they are wearing to act-out a different person gets the attention they should be getting.  In fact, I venture to say that the real Charlie Sheen is hurting on the inside while the mask he is wearing is getting all the attention. 

It is important to note that the number one trick of the enemy 'satan' is to disguise himself as someone he is not. He becomes an imposter and hides his true nature.  He tries this same trick with people and tries to get them to become imposters of who they really are.  He loves people who put on masks as he can move more readily through the disguise of who the person pretends to be. He does this early on in the imposter's life, but within a short time he has trapped the real person with the imposter and the two become one person - a real surreal moment.