Undignified

One of my favorite passages in scripture comes from 2 Samuel 6:22 where David says that he will become even more undignified than this.  He is saying this in response to his wife's criticism of how David worshiped before the Lord.  David's heart though is so captured by God that he doesn't care what those around him think about him nor even those in his own family.  He cares only about how he can worship God with every part of himself.  His dance before the Lord may have been an embarrassment to his wife, but the slave girls and servants enjoyed it.  These are the thoughts that I had in my recent mission trip to Cuba.

I walk out on the stage to the gleeful sounds of 500 kids.  I grin widely and begin my performance.  As soon as I begin trying to juggle, the guavas hit the ground.  I look over at Kyle and notice that his guavas are still in the air.  I know that this wasn't part of the plan, but my heart remains focused on my purpose here, so I sell it as a planned mistake.  I pick them up and try again.  This time they take a couple of seconds before falling to the ground.  Again, I sell it to the crowd.  All 500 kids remain in laughter and excitement.  I gesture prominently as I take a gulp of water and spit it at Kyle.  The giddiness apparent in the kids boils over to all out laughter.  I pretend it wasn't me and go back to juggling which I'm finally able to do at this point.  Kyle quietly picks up a bucket labeled "Agua" and begins chasing me with it, dumping the contents of confetti onto me and the kids that I'm hiding behind.  I can hear the giggles and laughter coming from kids all around.  I run off the stage and out into the street, our skit is over.

As I walk back to my room to cleanup the makeup and the costume, I take time to really take in what has happened today.  I'm in a place where the buildings all around are falling apart with the slow decay of time.  Where, with every heavy rainfall, the streets flood and smell like feces.  I take in the sights and see the emaciated animals that are the only source of nourishment to these starving people.  What Kyle and I offered these kids was a moment to step away from all of that and just enjoy a few brief moments of joy and peace.  How amazing it is to worship God by being a clown.  Sure, I may have acted like a fool, but just as David did in 2 Samuel 6, I did it before the Lord.  To paraphrase David, "I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.  But by these children, I will be held in high honor."