Heidi Viars

Recently a good friend made me a mask. I really loved it … until I wanted to put it on in public. I paused when I looked at it as I walked up to the store. Then, without hesitation, I put it back in my bag and pulled out a different one.

It’s not that I don’t love Jesus. I do. More than anything. It’s not that I don’t want to tell others about Him. I do. Whenever the Spirit prompts me. No. Those are not the reasons I think this is the wrong mask for me.

When I pull this mask over my face, I feel like Jesus is putting His hand gently over my mouth. It feels as if He is intently listening to whatever passes across my lips and through the thin layer of material.

Is really everything I speak worth hearing? Can people hear the truth and Jesus when I speak? Is what I say necessary and helpful in bringing others closer to God? Is what I say truly uplifting? Is it nice? Does my heart need checking before what comes from it forms words?

I confess that I have to take a closer look at myself before I commit to this mask.

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:29-32