The second means I would like to highlight to transform social life is to lose the mask. We present ourselves as authentically as possible.

Attack and withdrawal result in our setting up huge walls against being vulnerable. We are likely to put on “masks” to hide who we truly in an attempt them.

We wear masks in order to look better and achieve recognition and reward for being someone we are not. Especially tempting in a church community. One mask for our Christian friends and one mask for day-to-day life.

A third mask is to be influenced by Jesus, but hiding our love for him so we don't appear too sold out to our friends. This seems strange, but Christians may show signs of real growth in faith, but try to look like someone else at work or at school.

All masks must go. This doesn’t mean that our lives become therapy sessions. It's not about “brutal honesty” and such. Not about baring the effects of my childhood to the guy sitting next to me at McDonald's. This does mean we need to be real with people around us. Our public and private lives begin to match. We give up using deceit, manipulation and defensiveness in our relationships. Our identity comes from God and he makes it possible for us to face the world unmasked as our best, true selves.

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