Occasionally the costumed street performers in New York City's Times Square fall on hard times. The ordinary folks dressed up as Spider-Man, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, or a whole host of popular movie and TV characters compete to get pictures with and payments from tourists. But a few years ago there was a rash of unseemly incidents with these street characters. One of Times Square's Spider-Man performers punched an NYPD officer after resisting arrest for harassing a tourist. According to another report, "Cookie Monster stands accused of shoving a 2-year-old. Super Mario was charged with groping a woman. And Elmo was booked for berating tourists with anti-Semitic slurs."

Why all the drama? According to one psychology professor at Tufts, "When we are anonymous, the unwritten rules of society fall by the wayside and we engage in acts that we wouldn't usually want to be held accountable for. Masks are a good physical substantiation of that."

Possible Preaching Angles: This applies to every follower of Christ, not just Spider-Man wannabes. We all need community, accountability, and the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) that helps us grow up into Christlikeness.