DEEP COVER

"Deep Cover" is a 1992 crime thriller starring Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum. Laurence Fishburne plays Russell Stevens, a Cincinnati narcotics officer recruited by the DEA to infiltrate the network of the west coast's largest drug importer, Anton Gallegos (Arthur Mendoza), in an unparalleled sting operation. In order to achieve the DEA's mission of dismantling Gallegos's organization and bringing him to justice, Stevens has to go not only under cover but under deep cover. To keep his cover, he has to really sell the drug he buys, and some days had to eliminate a competitor. The twist in "Deep Cover" centers around Russell Stevens going so deep under cover that he eventually crossed the line between being a crime fighting police officer and being a ruthless drug dealer. And in doing so, he finds himself so deep not only under cover but also deep into the sinister and seductive world of the drug trade he may never get out of.

Only if you knew the number of us who live “deep cover” lives. We live under the deep cover of husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, pastors, neighbors, friends, and the list goes on. We live under the cover of sin like one lives under the cover of night. Living under the cover of sin really amounts to living under the cover of darkness. We have lived so long under cover that our real self has slipped away from us. Just like Russell Stevens, our life has become so blurred between our deep cover roles and the person who we really are, to the point that we no longer even know the difference between our undercover role and the person that we really are. Do you know how frustrating it is for an actor when people don’t know his name but only remembers him by the name of the television or movie character he played twenty or even longer years ago? Such is the frustration recently expressed by Actor Jaleel White who was most famous for the role of Steve Urkel, a nerdish African American boy character he played on “Family Matters”. And that has been many years ago. Mr. White revealed that people still walk up to him and calls him “Steve Urkel”. He had to often make it clear to them that he is not Steve Urkel and that Steve Urkel was the character he played as a child actor many years ago. 

And you should not expect others to see you for who you really are until you step out of the character of your deep cover role into the man or woman that God created you to be. This might explain the reason why some of us are failures at roles that have made super-stardom of others. For example in my many years experience as a classroom teacher in inner city schools, I got to discover that many young African American boys do not have a career or professional ambition or vision beyond that of playing professional basketball or becoming a hip hop or rap music artist. The ones who wanted to play basketball wanted to be like Michael Jordan, Lebraun James, Kobe Bryant, or their likes. And there is nothing wrong at all with having a role model in your life, even in competitive professional sports like the NBA basketball or even in a very competitive industry such as that of music entertainment. But the one fact that you must never forget is the fact that there is only one of your role model and there is only one of you, as well as the fact that the two cannot be exchanged. There can only be one Michael Jordan and there is only one Michael Jordan. And there cannot be another Michael Jordan after the Michael Jordan. There can be only one Lebraun James and there is only one Lebraun James. You cannot be either Michael Jordan or Lebraun James. But the good news is that you can set your goals to be better than both of them. And that is just how life is. God designed it to be like that way.

Sometimes we are under the cover of strength when we are really weak and broken. What is the point in being under the cover of comfort but in reality you are in pain. Quite often we show the outward appearance of righteousness while the person that is on the inside is unrighteous [Matthew 23: 27]. And where the problem gets worse is when we can no longer tell the difference between wearing a mask for people and wearing a mask for God. Then we get so deeply entrenched in our deep cover roles that we stop knowing who we really are. And it is most unlikely we’ll become who God really wants us to become without first knowing who we really are. And all the time the only person that is deceived is us and nobody else. Of course, God is not deceived. It is very well possible that you did not realize this before now. And now that you know, confession is a good place for change to begin and for healing to take place [James 5:16]. Confession entails removing your deep cover mask, giving up your deep cover role, and then stepping out of darkness into the limelight of God’s forgiveness and acceptance [1 Peter 2: 9].

Have you ever heard of conscious dreams? If you have never heard of it, I can assure you that you have experienced one, even maybe more than once. Conscious dreams are dreams in which at one point during the dream you become conscious that you are dreaming; except for the part that there is something just so good about your dream that you just don’t want to wake up. At least not right then. It could be holding a $100 bill, or maybe kissing your favorite actor or actress, or being behind the wheel of your dream car that you know you cannot afford, except in your dream. Everyone experience conscious dreams at one point or another. Just like in our conscious dreams, many of us are refusing to wake up to the reality of our situation, of our circumstances, and maybe even being afraid of waking up to the reality of who we really are. No matter how hard we try not to wake up, there is always a wake - up call of some sort. No matter how hard we try to hide or escape from the reality of the person we really are, something always gives us away. 

Why should Jesus open your eyes when you don’t even think you are blind? Why should He straighten your lame legs when you think you can walk? Why should God offer you deliverance when you think you are already free? Why should the Lord give you strength when you are yet to acknowledge being weak? And has it ever crossed your mind that God is looking for imperfect people instead of perfect ones? Do you know that God is seeking weak sinners rather than strong saints? Allow God to show you who you really are, so He could transform you to who you really need to become. Allow God to show you where you really are, so He can lead you to where you really need to be. It is not until then that you can really have a clear understanding of what your purpose is and the destiny which God has ordained for you. 


Just in case you are wondering how "Deep Cover" ends. Simply put, it was clearly a wake-up call for Russell Stevens. The DEA suddenly pulled the plug on his assignment, just because the top dealer, an influential Latin American politician, may someday become useful to the State Department. And that is one wake - up call for a cop that has bet everything on one big score. I pray that you discover life the way God intends.
 
K. George Olubodun