Unmasked
Written by: Warren Wiersbe
This time they have gone too far. You mark my words: they will pay for it.
I didn’t complain when they cut back on the school milk program. I wrote only two mild letters when they attacked Bible reading and prayer in the public schools. But this time, I am really worked up.
The courts have forced The Lone Ranger to take off his mask!
Those of us who remember when the West was young simply will not tolerate this judicial mayhem. The next thing you know, they’ll force Orphan Annie to get pupils in her eyes and Superman to stay out of telephone booths.
I was unable to get to the Masked Man for an interview, but I did spend a few minutes with the Great Horse Silver. He was prancing around in great excitement and seemed to be pleased with the action of the court.
“You seem to be feeling your oats today,” I remarked. “Are you really happy over the court decision?”
“Of course I am!” he replied. “It’s about time they made him take off his mask.”
“But, why? Without his mask, he isn’t The Lone Ranger.”
“And that’s good! Now maybe the crowds will start paying attention to me. He can get along without a mask, but where would he be without a horse?”
“So you feel he’s been taking all the glory all these years?”
“Absolutely! And just think of what I’ve had to go through. How would you like to hear ‘Hi ho, Silver!’ shouted in your ears day after day? I always had to run faster than the other horses, and that so-called fast draw of his was only a trick. They’d stop the cameras for him.”
“I see. You think that without his mask, he’ll have to develop some real skills to hold his own.”
“That’s right. He needs to quit horsing around (if you’ll excuse the term) and come to grips with reality. In a couple of more years, he won’t even need a mask. The bags under his eyes will do the job.”
“In other words, you think there’s too much masquerading in show business.”
“Far too much. Why, Lassie is a male! And Peter Pan was played by a lady who happened to be a grandmother. Let the masks come off! Just don’t remove the feedbags.”
Come to think of it, there is coming a day when all masks will come off, and we will be revealed as we really are. Maybe Silver has some horse sense after all.
EUTYCHUS X
Dr. Warren Wiersbe (1929-2019) was an internationally known Bible teacher, author, and conference speaker. He graduated in 1953 from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. While attending seminary, he was ordained as pastor of Central Baptist Church in 1951 and served until 1957. From September 1957 to 1961, Wiersbe served as Director of The Literature Division for Youth for Christ International. From 1961 to 1971 he pastored Calvary Baptist Church of Covington, Kentucky south of Cincinnati, Ohio. His sermons were broadcast as the “Calvary Hour” on a local Cincinnati radio station. From 1971 to 1978, He served as the pastor of Moody Church in Chicago 1971 to 1978. While at Moody Church he continued in radio ministry. Between August 1979 and March 1982, he wrote bi-weekly for Christianity Today as “Eutychus X”, taught practical theology classes at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and wrote the course material and taught a Doctor of Ministry course at Trinity and Dallas Seminary. In 1980 he transitioned to Back to the Bible radio broadcasting network where he worked until 1990. Dr. Wiersbe became Writer in Residence at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids and Distinguished Professor of Preaching at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. In his lifetime, Dr. Wiersbe wrote over 170 books—including the popular Be series, which has sold over four million copies. Dr. Wiersbe was awarded the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).
