Prior to 2020, the only people that I can think of who wore masks were superheroes and robbers. One hides their identity so they can keep doing their heroic work at odd hours throughout the day. The other hides their identity because they’re up to no good and they don’t want others to know who they are. Regardless of the reasons, good or bad, as to why superheroes and robbers wear masks, the desired result to hide their identity is the same.
2020 has come and gone and now almost anyone you see is wearing a mask. Have you ever stopped to think about the impact this has had on daily interaction between people? Let’s think about it, and not in a way that brings up the pro/anti-mask debate, but in a way that looks deeper into the lives of the people wearing the mask.
Wearing a mask brings a certain level of anonymity. In this masked life, we’ve grown accustomed to identifying people we know by the top portion of their head, their voice, their style of mask, etc., but I admit it was difficult at first. Remember bumping into people at church or stores having to maybe do a double-take or even ask who was talking to you? In this masked-up world, it is so easy to carry-on behind our masks without anyone recognizing who we are.
Let’s look at our lives before the mask. I would argue that a majority of people would tend to treat others well whether friend or stranger. For those who claim to love, live, and serve like Jesus, I would argue that it was easier, if that’s the right word, to “be like Jesus” to others. Why? Because we didn’t have masks to hide behind. But now in a masked-up world, we can nearly go anywhere we want and maintain our anonymity. That makes it easier to live selfishly, disregard others, and live in ways we wouldn’t if we weren’t wearing a mask. The question I ask myself and I am asking you is, “Why is it okay to treat others differently while wearing a mask?”
I’ll be honest, I have struggled at times with this. For whatever reason in the past several months, I have had more than a handful of opportunities to deal with customer service issues and have tough conversations with strangers, all while wearing a mask. I was fearless in those moments. Behind my mask, behind the cloud of anonymity it provided, I knew I had the option to say whatever I wanted or act however I wanted. That’s just it, though…it was an option. Thankfully for me, I was wearing one of our Friendship Church branded masks. I think it was God’s way of reminding me to love, live and serve like Him, but it shouldn’t take a mask to remind me of that.
The funny thing is… just like behind closed doors, just like when no one else is watching…Jesus is still there. Behind our masks, Jesus is still there, and He is calling us to continue loving, living and serving like Him. In the days ahead, I would encourage you to remember God’s call on your life and to be like Jesus to those around you, mask or no mask.
Remember the children’s song, “This Little Light of Mine?”
This little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
Oh, this little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
Hide it under a bushel? No!
I’m going to let it shine
Hide it under a bushel? No!
I’m going to let it shine
Let it shine, all the time, let it shine.
Maybe we should sing it again, but replace bushel with mask…
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2
Pastor Joel Farber
Joel Farber is the Worship Pastor at Friendship Church. He grew up in Minnesota and moved to the Prior Lake area in 2013 to work for Friendship Church as a Worship Associate. Joel and his family love Friendship Church. Other than his love for Jesus, Joel will first describe himself as a husband and father. He met his wife, Hannah, during a Wednesday night service at the Prior Lake campus in 2014 and the rest is history. They have two girls named Zoey and Ava.