We are how we see ourselves

Yesterday in the service, the pastor talked about how if we see ourselves as sinners, we will continue to walk in the sins and it is easier to except when we fall, but if we are to be as Christ followers we should be willing to see ourselves as Saints, just as Paul refers to the church. I thought of myself as a sinner saved by grace, I would have not called myself a saint. He shared with us the following story and I thought it very true and almost as affirmation of the things I have talked about in the past. I say we are what we think ourselves to be, just like we are what we eat. Here is the story and I hope it will help you to look at yourself not as a sinner saved by grace, because we have been transformed from the sinner to the saint. Walk in the saint, by putting on God.

The Happy Hypocrite By Max Beerbohm

Lord Hell has a lady friend. One night he is at an outdoor play with his lady friend when he is smitten by a young dancer on the stage. Her name is Jenny, and she is pure and saintly. A dwarf, sitting next to Lord George Hell, later revealed as cupid, fires an arrow into Hell’s heart.

Lord George boldly proposes to Jenny, but she refuses, saying she can only marry a man with the face of a saint. Upset and confused, Lord George Hell wanders the streets all night. In the morning he comes upon a shop where masks are made, and he asks for a mask that looks like a saint. The shop keeper quickly accommodates.

Lord George Hell’s lady friend sees him and confronts him, but with his new identity, he acts like he does not know her. He plans to return that evening to see Jenny perform again, but he unexpectedly runs into her that day. Cupid shows up at the same time and fires an arrow into her heart. Lord George Hell, wearing the mask of a saint, proposes marriage. Since he has the face of a saint, she accepts his proposal.

Hell's transformation continues when he has to sign the marriage license. He can’t sign as Lord George Hell for fear that Jenny will see him as he really is, so he signs as Lord George Heaven. Behind the mask his transformation continues. He returns money that he received from cheating while gambling, donating it to charities.

He then buys a little cottage to live in, a significant step down from his large house. After about a month of marriage, Lord George’s old lady friend shows up, challenging him about his identity. She refuses to leave until she can his true face. He refuses, so she attacks him. A three way scuffle develops, as Jenny tries to stop the attack. During the scuffle, Lord George’s mask is pulled off by his former lover.

Everything stops! Lord George fears the worst—that Jenny will reject him, when she sees his true face. But the most remarkable thing has happened. Lord George’s face has changed and conformed and now looks like the saintly mask that he’s been wearing. Jenny delights in seeing his real face, the wicked lover leaves, and the mask melts in the sun.

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I found that story so true. If we see ourselves as negative and never put on the mask of a positive person, we will always be negative. If we say we will always be a sinner, we will not strive to be a saint. Cloth yourself today in God, allow Him to change you, but you must be willing to work on being a better person, otherwise you will always be just what you are and never work towards who God is making you. Today will you cloth yourself in the sinner saved by grace or as a Saint that God has allowed us to be?