Jesus drives at noon.

For just over two years, I have worked a night job, and have therefore spent the vast majority of my driving time during the dark. I do not mind, as I am primarily nocturnal regardless of my employment status, but I believe the experience has spoiled me.

Night-time driving is considerably easier than driving during the day. Though vision may be reduced slightly due to the lack of a dominant light source, headlights work acceptably for nearly all circumstances, and the host of other benefits far outshadows the minor eye strain. For example, when driving at night:

You do not have to share the road, since you are generally alone.
Due to the lack of drivers overall, there is a lack of stupid drivers.
Due to the lack of stupid drivers, the road is a much more pleasant place.
Due to the road being a much more pleasant place, it's much easier to get into "the zone."
Due to it being much easier to get into "the zone," it is much easier to ponder all sorts of important things, pray, worship, or what-have-you.

It truly is marvelous. I would recommend that you try it, but that would ruin my zen-like driving experience.

It was during one of the aforementioned zen-like moments, however, that I realised that driving at night is a very good metaphor for a very bad walk. Allow me to elaborate.

True Christianity is inherently unpopular, particularly in today's society. Countless moral dilemnas are thrust upon each and every one of us on a regular basis, and often times the right choice in terms of the Bible is not the right choice in terms of society. Sloth, drunkenness, lust, greed... the list is massive, and in life, those who consistently choose properly often stick out like a sore thumb - much like those who actually obey all of those pesky traffic laws tend to irritate those of us who tend to fudge, blur, or ignore them.

In order to avoid the pesky rule-followers (or perhaps to avoid appearing like one), we therefore turn to night-time driving. The less people who see our driving habits and the less people who can identify either us or our vehicle, the less likely we are to stand out. After all, who cares if you go exactly the speed limit on I-35 at 3AM? It's going the speed limit at 7PM that will get you a whole range of colorful words and gestures. We tend to, for the sake of ourselves and our fragile self-images, go out of our way to make sure that our habits will not offend others, or to make sure that we are not offended by others' habits.

"It is not so bad, though! People can still see me, because my lights are on and my license plate is lit up. They can still identify me, I am still recognizable, and I am still bound by all the laws even at night, am I not?"

No! You are missing the point. Headlights are a self-serving substitute for that which we have a perfectly powerful alternative for, and they fall dreadfully short of matching the awesome power of the original. We often delude ourselves into believing that because we still have some small manner of socially visible religion, we are accomplishing just as much as we would by truly living what our stated beliefs are. Simply because our headlights can show us a few feet of the road ahead does not mean that we are better off than if we drove in the middle of the day, when the sun illuminates miles in all directions! Half-hearted shows of some semi-legitimate Christian affiliation accomplish nothing but showing those who are alert enough to catch them while you are doing the exact opposite of what you are wearing more reason to despise you (Rev 3:15-22).

"Well, the less people that are around, the better I can focus on God without all of those distractions, right? By avoiding people that I don't like to deal with, I keep myself from getting frustrated AND let myself get closer to God, and that's what it's all about, right?"

No (Mat 28:16-20)! We are not called to ignore people that we can't stand - if we were, Christianity would be just another high-school clique, with all the cool kids standing around wearing crosses and "Jesus is my homeboy" shirts. The mission field would be nonexistent, college ministries would have no purpose, public speaking by Christians would have died out entirely (since it is the number one fear of most people) - the assumption is ridiculous. "Driving at night" may be excused in clever ways, but none of them are valid. Was Stephen avoiding uncomfortable situations the moments before he was stoned to death? Did Paul avoid uncomfortable confrontations the many times he was thrown into prison? Jonah attempted to avoid an uncomfortable situation, and was placed in one even more dire. It cannot be justified that we should hide our faiths when logic and truth state that exactly the opposite must be done (Mat 5:14-16, Luke 8:16-18).

Literal driving at night, for many, is a necessity, as many jobs require or demand it. Driving at night, in terms of the walk of any Christians who legitimately believe what they claim, is inexcusable.