Episode Sixteen: Who are you without the mask?

Hello everybody! This week's episode is about your identity and how your environment can shape who you are. We hope you enjoy!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Purpose Podcast. I'm your host, Gabe.

SPEAKER_01 0:05

And I'm your co-host, Josh.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

And you're gonna be seeing this on April 28th, 2026. Years flying by fast.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

I know we are almost in May.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Insane. Feels like we just started 2026.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Before you know it's gonna be Christmas.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Don't please don't say that yet. I like the little break before Christ. I like the little break from Christmas, which is the whole year.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Before we know it's gonna be 4th of July.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Yeah, okay. That's a little bit better. Don't know what I'm gonna do yet, but we're gonna I'm gonna figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

I gotta get my summer body ready. That ain't gonna happen though.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Hot boy summer.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Uh-huh. Christian boy summer.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

I mean, I might, you know, just put my outfit for fourth July, you know, I might, you know, sit out in the sun and put some stars or straps in my back and get a sunburn and have a trace of the American flag on my back.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Yeah. Well, I would do the same, but you know, I don't want to make you or anybody else jealous of my physique. I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Anyways, let's let's get off our from from our tomfoolery. This is we are on episode 16, and today's episode is Who Are You Without the Mask? And when I think of this, I like to think of uh your identity versus your perception. Because sometimes we have to look ourselves in the mirror. And sometimes you have to question yourself like, How are you portraying yourself, or are you authentic to yourself, or are you putting on a face to please someone else? And I I feel like this is also a common issue among people. We hide behind a mask, which also hides our true identity. In Matthew 6 6, it states, But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy father which is in secret, and that father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. And also in Psalms 51 6, it also says, Behold, thou dearest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part thou shalt make me know wisdom. God knows who we truly are, and no mask can survive his presence. In contrast, we can hide our true identities from people, but it only deals with he only deals with the real you. The thing about God is that he isn't after our image, he's after he's after our honesty. When we look at Romans 12, 2 and be not conformed to this world, but be he transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The in quotations mask we try to wear can be described as trying to fit in the world. They are usually made to please people. And the Bible says that if you please men, then you can't be a servant of Christ. We should live our lives as Christ's followers, live a Christian lifestyle and not be ashamed. Don't change the way you act to suit others. Try your best to always stick with living godly, even though we always hick up. It's better to try and fail rather than keep living an ungodly life and can continuously mess up. What did you think of the first topic here, Josh?

SPEAKER_01 4:06

I actually like this topic. Um and I started off with the knowing the difference between identity and perception. And identity is who you truly are at your core, you know, your heart, your values, character, and who God created you to be. And perception is how other people view you based on what they see, such as the tone of your voice, the um facial expressions you make, your appearance, your um just your overall vibe. And um, there is a difference between those two. And we see this often in um Christianity. Sometimes people's perception of us doesn't match our true identity. And um the Bible says in Proverbs 23:7, for as he thinks in his heart, so is he, and many times people perceive us as being on fire for God because they watched us post the Bible verse on social media, or they shared us, or they um watched us post our Sunday best selfie on Sunday, and um but what about the inside? You know, they're seeing the outside, but what about the inside? Are we truly who people think that we are? Do we love the do we love people the way that Jesus would love them? Or do we only love the people that we think give us popularity and give us attention? Um we can put on clothes that make us feel good for a moment, but once they come off, that feeling fades. And it's the same way. Um we can wear a mask that makes others think we're good, but then when we get alone with God and we get in that secret place and we take that mask off, what remains is our true identity. You know, God knows our true identity versus the world, the world sees one side of you and God sees the other side of you.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

Like we said there, Josh, and the feedback on like what we just talked about, I also feel like the comparison is a trap, also. And one of the worst traits of humans is the fact that we always have to compare ourselves to the others. And I mean, like a lot of times, obviously a lot of us about jealousy, but it's it's hard to not be jealous about somebody else because it's a human nature.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

And we compare things like maybe our looks all the way to material possessions. So sometimes the incartation's mask is created to mirror somebody else in our life. In 2 Corinthians 10 12 it states, for we dare not make ourselves other number or compare ourselves with some that can commend themselves. But they measure themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise. Comparison isn't helpful, but it's unwise. Also in Proverbs 14 30 it says that a sound heart is life of the flesh, but envy the rottenness of the bones. Comparison breeds jealousy and envy. These two factors will eat you not only internally, but externally. It can become very overwhelming and destructive in our personal life. Jesus says in John 21, What is that to thee? Follow thou me. This is when Peter hears about his future and he immediately starts questioning some questioning someone else's future. And Jesus is basically telling him, This isn't his concern. Because John's path is completely different and has nothing to do with Peter. But he gave a command to follow him, follow him, and he'll make sure your future is bright. Did you see any comparison in the world, or maybe do you see any around at all?

SPEAKER_01 8:29

Oh, I see comparison all the time. And um I know personally I I struggle with comparison because um I always have like self-doubts, and I'm like, oh well, I can't do this, I can't do what this person can do, or I don't have what this person has. And um so I I see comparison a lot in the world, and not just myself, but with other people, and um in Galatians chapter six, verse four, it says, Well, let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another. And comparison is a trap because it drains you. Um there's always gonna be things that other people have that we don't have, and things that they do that we can't do, but God did not create us to copy someone else's life, and um always remember that you're f you are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, and your value isn't determined by what other people think of you or what you sometimes think about yourself, because your worth comes from the one that created you, and when we constantly compare compare ourselves to other people, we lose sight of the gifts and the purpose and the identity that God placed within us. And um I feel like that's one of the quickest ways to lose gratitude for your own life is when you you compare yourself to somebody else's life.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

I agree. Um it feels like when you start comparing yourself to other people, it just feels like you can't never get ahead in life. Like you feel like you always gotta be one step ahead of somebody else, so you're constantly trying to be better than them.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Right.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

After that, like you said after a while, it's just draining.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Yeah, there was a point one time where I would compare myself because they had this one thing that I didn't have. And I remember I would lose sleep over it, I would cry about it, and it was very draining, and it's nothing but the enemy because the enemy wants to tell you that you're not doing good in life, or you're not who God called you to be because you don't have the you don't have what this person has, but we're all created differently in the image of God, so what this person may have isn't what God meant for you to have, or what this person can do isn't what God meant for you to do. Um He all gave us different traits and different uniques, and um so you just have to look at yourself the way that God looks at you.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

And sometimes I also I feel like that the environment can't be controlling you. It's always important to always try and put yourself in the best environment possible, because evil around you can definitely affect the way you live. Like in 1 Corinthians 15 33, it says, be not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good manners. So how do you how do you portray yourself whenever you're out of the out of your comfort zone in these bad environments? Do you change your mask? If so, that means you're conforming to that setting. Now also at the same time, this ought to be a good thing or a bad thing. You can be witnessing behavior that might be benefit in your life, but you also can become the thing that you always were yourself against. And the world makes it kind of a little bit easier to do bad things. And it makes it it makes things feel more fun, and a lot of times it feels like all your friends are on board with it. But in the long run, it's so better to try your best to resist and continue to be better with your life. Another verse to prove this is in Proverbs 1320, and it says, He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Your inner circle can shape your outlooks on life. That's why grown-ups always always told us to choose our friends wisely grown up. Because if we get in the wrong crowd, then our lives can spiral out of control. But if we surround ourselves with in quotations, wise men, then it can shape us into admirable people. We shall we should be people that others always look up to.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Right. And your environment and your people has an effect on you, has an effect on the way you think, the way you live, um, the way you do stuff, because if you put yourself around people that party, you're gonna party. If you surround yourself with in an environment that's filled with drugs, you're more than likely gonna get addicted to drugs. Um if you surround yourself with people that love you and support you, and they want you to do good, and they go to church, you're more than likely gonna go to church and you're gonna love other people and you're gonna support other people. And um, so it's real important to watch who you're with and where you're at, because it has an effect on the way that you live. And especially if you know that you were born and you was called to lead others to Christ, you know, you don't want to be in an environment where you're being pulled further away from Christ, and um the people is doing things that's not Christ's like, versus if you surround yourself in an environment that does pull you closer to Christ, and they do things like read the Bible, um, have worship nights, um, go to church, you know, you're gonna live your life right according to God.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

What I think of a mask. You remember the old, like, I don't forgot what the show was called. Um what's uh what's the old show like back when the TV was black and white, you know, it's uh it had all them like horror stories on it. It was called um um was it the X-Files? What was that what it was? No.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

I don't know, I have no idea.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

Anyways, I'll know one of them old shows. I'm gonna think of it later and I'm I'm gonna be so mad at myself for forgetting what it was.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

It's not the Twilight Zone, is it?

SPEAKER_00 16:08

It was the Twilight Zone. There we go. Yeah, where I got X Files from. It was Twilight Zone. I feel stupid. But anyways, um there's an episode where they all put on a mask, and that mask changed your whole face. Like their face cannot conform to the mask. That's kind of what I think of here. Like if you wear a certain mask and it's bad for you, then it's gonna change you. That's one thing I thought of. And another thing I thought of was that movie with Jim Carrey. I think it was like called The Mask. I ain't never seen it because it freaks me out every time I look at it. But that's the first thing I thought of when I s when I heard when I saw when I thought of uh who are you without the mask? But I thought this was a good topic to talk about this week.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

Yeah, and it was a deep topic because it's something everybody goes through, so yeah. I go through it, you go through it, people listening, y'all go through it. And we know people that wear a mask, and um they live like this in front of certain people, and then live a totally opposite way in other people, but you have to have one identity because you have a purpose, and you can't serve that purpose if you have two different identities.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

Well, that's gonna conclude our episode today. If you're listening on Apple Podcasts, make sure to go subscribe and like on YouTube. And if you're on YouTube, make sure if you got Apple you're gonna follow Apple Podcast. Y'all have a great week. And remember, keep seeking your purpose.