Late one Friday night after youth group, my wife and kids were driving home from church. We exited I695 (affectionately known as the Beltway) and then turned onto our local street. As we approached a four way stop, the car in front of us came to a halt. The passenger door sprang open and a young guy jumped out and started running through the intersection and then left up a street. He was running fast and jumping in the air, oh and yeah he was completely naked except for socks. My wife and I were at first shocked, then we started laughing at the craziness of the whole scene. Then we remembered our kids were in the back seat! To our relief our daughter was asleep and our boys were engrossed in video games.
Now, I don’t know why that kid decided to streak. Maybe he lost a bet or he was triple-dog-dared. Maybe he was high on crack. I have no idea. But all I know is that he drew a lot of attention and none of it was good. In fact, Maryland law is such that if you steak and get caught, you’re pegged as a sex offender. Which means that this kid, who probably thought this was an innocent prank, would have had to live for a very long time with a very bad label attached to him if he was caught.
In a spiritual sense, I don’t ever want to be guilty of “spiritual streaking”. (Stop laughing.) Follow me here. Don’t we Christians sometimes do things just to be seen? We pray a certain way, we talk a certain way, we even serve in certain ways to gain accolades or status or popularity or position. We put on the Christian face and speak Christianese in front of the Pastor, but then act differently around others. Like the Emperor and his “new clothes”, we fool ourselves into thinking we are better, smarter or more important than we ought to. All the while it’s like we’re running down the road naked…with just our socks on.
Jesus talked about this when He taught about prayer. He taught that humility is not an option or emotion. It’s a way of life. It’s the way of life.
Matthew 6:5-13 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
