By Jaime Harper
Every Sunday morning there are individuals who enter a church building, put on their happy masks and walk across a foyer, beginning a weekly ritual of Christianity for the day. Because of the mask, no one really knows them, knows the pain, the struggles, the heartaches they are living in.  Their weekly custom is an attempt to fit in somewhere––anywhere––yet they are merely quietly conforming to the majority instead of finding and enjoying the spiritual companionship and conscious contact with God’s people that we so desperately desire.
What if you were able to see behind all of the smiling faces and understand that you aren’t the only one in the building who struggles? What if you found out that those of the majority are actually just like you and afraid to admit it also?
The local congregation of the Lord’s Church should be the most comforting place to walk into bearing our burdens and struggles, knowing that we will have access to the help of God’s children if we will humble ourselves and ask (James 5:16). But for whatever reason, we believe that the best thing to do is not burden someone else with our problems and to act like all is well so no one will look at us as if we are different.
The truth is we all have flaws, we all need support, and we are different. What makes the Lord’s church unique is that we have been called out of the darkness and placed in His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). Learning how to walk in the light and grow in Christ is so important for those of us who are struggling. But we all need to be willing to take our masks off and see that the Lord has built His church, placing each of His children in it as He desires (1 Corinthians 12:18).
Because of the baggage piled on by past sins, so many Christians feel alone and out of place and are unable to accept the future that the Lord has waiting for them. That is how the devil wants us to feel. If we were able to see the burdens that those next to us carry, we would be comforted knowing we aren’t the only ones struggling on this journey Home.
Various national surveys lead me to believe that there is a high likelihood that each of us is surrounded by individuals who feel like misfits as much as we do. Here are a few of the statistics:
 

  • Up to 15% of the U.S. population have personality disorders: codependency, obsessive compulsive, antisocial, perfectionism (American Psychiatric Association).
  • 20% of Americans will experience some form of depression each year (NIMH, National Institute of Mental Health).
  • 5% of the adult population is bipolar (NIMH, National Institute of Mental Health).
  • 5% of the U.S. population suffers with an eating disorder: Anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, or food addiction (NEDA, National Eating Disorder Association).
  • 8% of Americans aged 12 or older reported being consumers of alcohol (SAMHSA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).
  • 9% of Americans currently use illicit drugs (SAMHSA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).
  • 70% of men ages 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month (Familysafemedia.com) and 50% of Christian men regularly view pornography. (ChristiaNet, Inc.).

The church is not immune to the schemes of the devil. And as much as we would like to say, “These things will never make it into our congregation,” the truth is if it hasn’t entered already, addictions and life struggles are knocking on the door. So, the question is what are we as a church able to do in order to effectively resist the evil one and the influence that he attempts to blind us by each day?
Admitting the problem exists is the first step. We cannot continue pretending with one another that all is well if it is not. It is our service as Christians to lift up those who are unable to stand on their own. Who better to help this cause than those who have fallen but have since learned how lean upon the Lord and walk humbly with God?
What if it was alright to leave your mask at home? What if you were able to trust the members of the congregation enough to open up to them? What if the church was able to be what God intended for it to be? What if the change started with you?