One Jesus-loving person’s mask manifesto.

The mask debate.  It’s the latest source of division and animosity in our society.  We are all learning the newest social term – “virtue signaling” – as the media and authorities promote the use of shame, fear, and intimidation in order to drive mass compliance.  These tactics do work on the majority, but there is a definite population that will always be immune to them.  I am in that subset.  And the more I pray, humbly and earnestly seeking God for guidance about this issue, the more uneasy and agitated I become about the use of masks. 

The thing is, I love your face.

While steeped in fervent prayer last week, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and through me with powerful messages about the value of seeing faces.  This is what was revealed to me through prayer and scripture.

People need to see faces.

From the first moments after birth, our eyes search for those features that teach us about our surroundings, about our tribe and our place in the world, about who we can trust and where we are safe. Faces teach us important things about ourselves, others, and our place in this world.  Faces bring comfort through a soft, reassuring smile, and provide silent cues when our words are met with doubtful eyes. 

All day long, I search out the messages in the faces around me.  Is one troubled?  Sad?  Excited? Plotting some mischief perhaps?

I love faces.  Each one is unique – some glowing with the wonder of youth, others wearing fissures from years of laughter.  Some with linear ripples in a furrowed brow, now frozen in time from a life of work and worry.  Some are works of art, painted with precision, others are tanned and kissed all over by the sun.  So many shades, colors, shapes, and types. I love them all.

I would even propose that there is nothing in all the world more essential to communication and social learning than faces.  They wear EXPRESSIONS – they are the outlet through which we dynamically express ourselves, shifting from one moment to the next.  As social beings, created by God to be in communion and fellowship with one another, we must not minimize this invaluable tool of natural wisdom that enables us to do that most critical task of relating to one another.

The promotion of face covering as a social norm is like taking an eraser to the essence of the individual.  Our minds don’t register a novel image for physiological imprinting with each individual, but instead lump them all together as generic humans.  We risk allowing a subconscious dehumanization of the beauty of each unique creation, teaching our minds that people are all alike – a faceless mass of drones and clones.

I love your face, and God loves your face too. Probably even more than I do! He created you in His image!  You are evidence of His handiwork, His most beloved and miraculous creation. 

In Genesis 33:10, Jacob, in a state of uncertainty and anxiety, meets up with his estranged brother.  Just the sight of his brother’s face melts away that anxiousness, and Jacob says, “And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God!”  As those around us – especially those who do not have a relationship with the Lord – become filled to overflowing with anxiety and uncertainty, there has never been a greater need for the relief of a friendly smile.  “It is like seeing the face of God!”

Check out these various versions of 2 Corinthians 3:17 that celebrate us having unveiled faces:

“All of us, with no covering on our faces, show the shining-greatness of the Lord as in a mirror. All the time we are being changed to look like Him, with more and more of His shining-greatness. This change is from the Lord Who is the Spirit.” NLV

“But all of us who are Christians have no veils on our faces, but reflect like mirrors the glory of the Lord. We are transfigured by the Spirit of the Lord in ever-increasing splendour into his own image.” PHILLIPS

“So our faces are not covered. They show the bright glory of the Lord, as the Lord’s Spirit makes us more and more like our glorious Lord.” CEV

Now, read it in context:

^“But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

Freedom.  Unveiled faces.  The glory of the Lord.

In Bible times, face covering was an expression of shame.  Jesus died to free us from shame, to remove the veil so that we can see and know the truth of God’s great love, and allow that truth to shine through us into the dark world.

All of this has convinced me that I will glorify God through my face.  We could go back and forth splitting theological hairs about these passages, but I feel that would just be missing the forest for the trees. Obviously, I am taking these passages out of context.  I believe that God’s word is alive and active, and that He uses it in both creative and literal ways to teach those who seek Him in it. Rather than intellectualizing over these particular passages, I propose that a better course of action is for each of us is to seek the heart of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct us as to the best way to represent Him here and now.  To spend twice as much time in prayer, Bible reading, and meditation as we do in looking to the world for direction.

I will continue to hold this position regarding face masks until the Holy Spirit shows me otherwise.  I know that many people won’t agree.  Some will even be offended because they don’t understand.  But Christians should never be surprised when the world hates us (1 John 3:13).  I trust that as a result of my obedience in this area, others WILL get relief from my friendly smile, that my uncovered face  WILL show them the bright glory of the Lord, and that they WILL see that where the Spirit is, there is freedom.

For further reading on social norms and Christ like love, check out this blog post entitled “Loving my neighbors’ soul more than their body.”