When we prioritize image over presence, we lose intimacy—with both God and others.
How much of my life have I spent trying to prove who I am to people? The energy it takes is exhausting—how I dress, how I speak, where I live, what I say (or don’t say), what I publicly support spiritually or politically.
Sometimes I wonder: Do I even fully understand what I claim to believe?
And if someone pressed me—really pressed me—I might start unraveling by the third or fourth question.
The more we immerse ourselves in the world of public approval and personal ambition, the further we drift from God.
At times, it’s as though we try to play God—carefully crafting an image that gives others the illusion we’re in control.
But much like those who perform bravery while trembling inside, many of us are quietly afraid, hiding behind confidence we don’t actually possess.
Jesus spoke directly to this human tendency when He said:
“Woe to you… you are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”
—Matthew 23:27
Lately, I’ve been trying to make a better effort to acknowledge who I really am—and more importantly, who God is calling me to be. Not a carefully edited version of myself designed to put others at ease. Not a projection. Just… me.
And the truth is, it’s freeing.
Even if it makes me seem weird.
Even if it costs relationships I thought I needed.
It’s far better to align ourselves with God, and let Him align us with people who aren’t performing either—people who don’t need masks to belong.
So I say to you, brothers and sisters:
God knows who we really are.
He always has.
And He is not asking us to present ourselves like actors in a play.
He’s asking us to show up as what we already are—the gracious, eternal souls He created in love.
