Dave Chappelle is one of the most famous comedians in the world. In his most recent show, he tells the story of meeting another famous comedian, Jim Carrey, who was one of his idols. Carrey was filming a movie in which he played another comedian named Andy Kaufman. Kaufman had recently died.

When Chappelle met Carrey, the movie’s cast told Chappelle that Carrey didn’t want to break character even when filming stopped. During their time together, Chappelle had to call Carrey “Andy,” and act as if Carrey was the deceased comedian. It’s easy to see the humor in that situation, and Chappelle made it a part of his show. But it was also silly. Carrey had worked hard to pick up Kaufman’s mannerisms and accent. I’m even sure that a few people had to remind themselves that Carrey wasn’t really Kaufman. But no matter how much a person can look like and act like another person, it’s still bizarre to speak with somebody who’s acting like somebody they aren’t.

The NT tells us that this kind of bizarre situation is not as strange as we might suppose. It happens more often than we think. It even happens in the spiritual world. In 2 Cor 11:14, Satan is said to appear as someone he is not. He “transforms himself into an angel of light.” The word translated transforms means to disguise oneself in order to appear to be something else. The most obvious example of Satan doing this occurred in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-6). He came to Eve in the guise of a helpful friend who desired what was best for her. He was really a fiend who sought her death. He wore a mask.

In the very next verse, Paul says that it is not only Satan who plays a role that hides who he is. Those who do his work also wear a mask. In 2 Cor 11:15, some false teachers played the role of actors. They were false apostles, transforming (the same word used to describe Satan) themselves into the apostles of Christ. These false teachers acted as if they were teaching the truth. They were evil but put on a mask that made them appear righteous. They were doing the work of Satan but acted as if they were doing the Lord’s work.

I cannot tell whether these false apostles are believers or unbelievers. My guess is that the faction includes a mixture of both. But even if they are all unbelievers, another Scripture passage makes it clear that believers can also act like people they are not.

In Jas 1:23-24, James describes a believer who does not do what the Word of God tells him to do. When he looks into the Word, he sees his real face. He sees who he is in Christ. But when he walks away and doesn’t do what the Word says, he forgets who he is. He puts on a mask with his actions and words. He appears to be what he is not.

Chappelle’s story about meeting Carrey was very funny. He got several jokes out of that encounter. A major reason for the humor was how crazy it all was.

When we as believers don’t do what the Lord tells us to do, we also become actors. But it isn’t funny at all. We dishonor the Lord. I can understand why Carrey did what he did. He was getting paid millions of dollars to convince moviegoers that he was somebody he was not. He took on the role in a very serious manner. That is what a great actor does.

We, on the other hand, are not called to be actors. We are called to show the world the glory of our Savior who lives in us (2 Cor 3:18). That is who we are. May we never disguise our identity.