Your Helmet: Don't Leave Home Without It!

September 14, 9:24 PMFaith & Culture ExaminerDr. Bob Beltz

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One day last fall, Chip and Becky Klenk left Grand Junction, Colorado, on a brand new Harley-Davidson touring motorcycle, headed for Illinois. I know this because I read about their trip in the latest edition of Hog Tales, the official magazine of the Harley Owners Group (HOG.)  They encountered a few unexpected obstacles along the way.  Somewhere in the middle of Nebraska, the wind picked up and really started to blow.  If you have ever been on the highway on a motorcycle when this happens, you know it is not a lot of fun.  Becky grabbed Chip a little tighter and hunched down behind his shoulders to protect herself from the wind.  When she felt Chip suddenly decelerate, she looked up over his shoulder to see what was happening.  At the precise moment Becky looked up, Chip ducked down.  He ducked because he saw two large, black objects heading directly for his head.  Becky barely had time to see the same two objects when the lower black object hit her directly in the face.  Fortunately, she was wearing a full-face motorcycle helmet. The black object hit her so hard it knocked the face shield partially off the helmet.  Becky and Chip had a helmet intercom system that enabled them to communicate.  Chip immediately asked if Becky was alright - to which she responded, "I've been hit."

Chip slowed immediately and pulled the motorcycle to the side of the road.  Becky immediately took off her helmet, which now was giving off a horrible stink due to the direct hit.  What happened?  It turns out that Becky had just been creamed by a flying dead skunk!  Here's how it happened. 

You might remember the Loudon Wainwright song from 1972, "Dead skunk in the middle of the road."  So picture the following:  The wind is blowing like crazy.  A dead skunk lies in the middle of the road.  Overhead, as the motorcycle approaches the decaying remains of the odoriferous mammal, a large black crow spots the roadkill.  "Lunch!" thinks the crow.  He swoops down and plucks the skunk from the highway, not anticipating that the wind is blowing so hard he will have a difficult time maintaining control of the carcass.  As he reaches four feet of altitude, the crow sees an unfamiliar animal approaching at rapid speed.  This animal is made of American Iron and is inhabited by Chip and Becky.  The wind blows, the crow loses control of the skunk, Chip ducks, and Becky gets a helmet-full of dead skunk.  Becky's final comment in the article was, "We don't always wear helmets when we ride, but I'm sure glad I was wearing mine that day!"  I would call that an understatement.

You might be wondering what this has to do with Christianity.  I don't know what Chip and Becky believe, but I immediately thought about a verse from the New Testament book of Ephesians.  In the sixth chapter of that book, the Apostle Paul gives a brief discourse on the nature of the Christian life as a war.  "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood…" he writes.  In a war, the outcome of being engaged in battle is often a matter of whether you are properly equipped or not.  Two times in the passage, Paul encourages his reader to "Put on the full armor of God."  After the second admonition to do so, Paul specifically identifies six items of "spiritual armor."  He uses the image of a Roman soldier and the equipment such soldiers wore, both for protection and for striking a blow.  Paul then attaches a spiritual character quality to each piece of the soldier's gear.  The soldier's belt is identified with truthfulness, his breastpiece with righteousness, foot protection with the readiness to share the good news about Jesus, the soldier's shield with faith, and his HELMET with salvation.  "Take the helmet of salvation," Paul says. 

The most vulnerable part of the human body is the head.  A blow to the head can be fatal.  This is why it is of such importance that a soldier's head is protected.  It is also why it is important to wear a helmet when you ride a motorcycle.  If you doubt this, here is a simple exercise.  Put on a motorcycle helmet and have someone hit you in the head with a baseball bat.  Then, take the helmet off and have the person hit you again. 

In the spiritual battle, you need to have your "helmet" on.  That helmet is salvation.  Without salvation, you are in danger of suffering a fatal spiritual blow!  A good motorcycle helmet is expensive.  The good news (literally) is that that the helmet of salvation is free.  Jesus paid for it at the Cross.  All we have to do is take it when he offers it and put it on. I bought my current motorcycle helmet about ten years ago.  It is a "shorty," meaning it leaves my face open to the wind.  After reading Becky and Chip's story, I'm considering going to a full-face helmet. I got my very own helmet of salvation in 1970, and it has never failed me.

So what is the moral of the story?  There are two: 1) We all need Jesus.  And 2) If you are riding a motorcycle and see something black flying at you…duck!