Mere Christianity – C. S. Lewis (1952)
The passage in the book is referring to humbling before God to be who you really are … a devoted Christian, but I think this could relate to a lot of us in respect of a lot of the things we do … regardless of religion.
By default, we all have different roles to play throughout our lives. There are the various stages of simply growing-up, but coupled with them are all manner of different personas that we are expected to undertake.
At the start, you are not just a son or daughter but also maybe a grandchild, have aunts and uncles, make friends, you are a patient to the family doctor, the pupil at a few schools, the member of a hobby or sports group maybe, and a role model for younger children. You may be required to be all these things at the same time.
As an adult, you will add on responsibilities such as work, marriage, families of your own, maybe carer to elderly relatives. You will have different sets of friends related to the various roles undertaken. All these identities must be juggled constantly.
There are very few circumstances when an individual is completely allowed to be themselves with no outside influence.