We believe there is something inherently wrong with us, and so we pass ourselves off as something we are not.
For some of us it is a significant and lingering feeling, and everyday is a new endeavor to hide those things we think wrong with us, and try and accentuate those we feel are best.
For others it is fleeting moments, or certain spaces, or certain people that make us feel inadequate and inherently misaligned with the world around us, and in those moments we try and hide those things we think make us inherently out of place with those people or those spaces.
The point family—if we can be honest with ourselves and each other for just a moment—is that we all live our lives through filters that allow us to accentuate what we want people to see, and minimise what we do not want them to see, all so that we can be accepted as the person we think they want us to be. Broyard was just an extreme, and particularly ruthless version of our collective human condition.
How do we shake free from this? We do so by hearing and believing the truth—God intimately formed you and knows you fully.