Masquerade Parade

I wrote this in 2008 when I was 17 years old. This lesson has been on my heart a lot lately since Phantom of the Opera at school, so I thought I'd post this from facebook to my blog:

How often do I spend time and effort trying to be cool like somebody else?

Why do I even want to desire to be different than how God made me?

Are other people that much more interesting than I am?

Am I trying to get human approval more than God's approval?

What would happen if I peeled back the layers and showed my real self, my real personality?

Why do I care if I'm left out of the "cool" group or not?

Why do I even care what other people think?

It seems to me that life in America is a masquerade parade. So many people are trying very hard to be someone they're not. Everyone parades through life putting on a masquerade that all is okay and that nothing is wrong. They put on a mask and only show a practiced personality; a personality that is not their own. They do that, I think, to hide all the hurt, sorrow, and failure they have in life, which more than likely is a life without God.

However, as Christians we often do the same thing. But it is a little different. Most of us have set a role in our heads of what a "perfect Christian" should be, and we all focus on acting the part. I know this because I've done it. Why do we do that? I really don't know. Perhaps it's because we have allowed our culture and world to affect our faith. We shouldn't allow that, though. Instead, we should be set apart, and be different. We need to lean on each other, love each other, and learn from each other because we are all weak, we all hurt, and we all fail. We need to forget about participating in the masquerade and focus on running the race to our eternal home together as our Creator and those who have gone before us cheer us on.

Fake Identities:

I'm in a world of fake identities--
Where much is gained
When all are the same
As a famous personality.
My world states that there is no pain
To be contained
And be acclaimed
As someone I know I'm not.

But I have some true information.
It gives the news
That I should refuse
The views that are taught in this nation.
The views of this world are all a game
That'll bring me pain
And make me refrain
From the person I truly am.

-KLR 8/30/08