The Church Costume Party
Midweek Children’s Program
October can be a puzzling time of year for churches with midweek activities for children. When Halloween falls on or near the same night as your kid’s program, how should you handle it? Should you have your regular night of ministry, or is it better to create an alternate activity? People can have strong opinions about it. Every church responds a little differently, doing the best they can to create a positive experience for their children. You don’t want kids to believe that following Jesus means joyless monotony.
The church where I once served children decided to have an October costume party with games, prizes and candy. There was to be a contest for the best costume and, though it wasn’t mandatory, they encouraged everyone to dress up as a Bible character. Leaders invited the adults on the team to participate. Extra points would be awarded if others could guess which character you pretended to be.
The Costume Plan
My competitive side kicked in. A plan came together and I geared up for the big night. I couldn’t wait for the children to guess my costume.
I dressed in white from head to toe. Any skin not clothed in white I covered with chalky makeup. I blanketed my brown hair with baby powder until it looked like a snowdrift on my head.
I walked in the door at church and the children turned toward me. I could read on their faces that they weren’t quite sure what to make of my costume. They quizzically looked me up and down. One older boy called out, “I know who you are. You’re Lot’s wife!”
He nailed it. He remembered the Bible story of Sodom and Gomorrah and how God told Lot and his family not to look back as the destruction fell. Lot’s wife turned to glance and was changed into a pillar of salt.
The Trouble with Masquerades
Dressing up in costumes can start an amusing party. Pretending to be someone you are not can create fun imaginative play. But we wouldn’t necessarily want to continue the masquerade after the party is over.
I didn’t want to be Lot’s wife long term. The baby powder that trailed after me created a mess for the church custodian. I would lose interest in a wardrobe of white. Greater still would be the difficulty in never being able to move, had I truly been turned into a pillar of salt.
The pretending I might find myself adopting in everyday life is not the costume party kind. Instead, it is the times I don’t believe I am enough, left to myself, and don a pretense. I can trick myself into believing you can’t see my charade.
A part of me would like you to believe that I am more than I am. When I have that mindset, I believe my false pretense covers my flaws. I wear an imaginary mask. I present to you who I want you to perceive that I am.
My pride would like others to perceive me as successful and capable. My shame prefers to remain in the shadows where it holds power and tells me that I have little to offer. Pretending to be more than I am can be a way of me trying to keep the shame undercover.
The trouble is, I live with myself. I know my flaws. I can’t keep up the guise of having it all together for long because I don’t. Besides that, pretending is a lot of work.
Good News
The good news is that Jesus didn’t die for my false self. He came to rescue me from a life of hiding. He died for all those flaws I’d like to keep covered. In doing so, He took my shame so that I could live without a mask, without pretense, and in freedom. What a wonderful Savior He is!
“Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me.” Proverbs 30:8
Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash
Questions to Ponder: Under what circumstances might you want to hide the real you? What would life be like if you could live free from performance and hiding?