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Police Officers and Religion
I wasn’t sure how to write this entry as I have too many feelings and thoughts circling in my head that typing them all out would take eons. Instead, I’m going to be brief and let you ask any questions in the comments.
I’ll start off with some bible quotes taken from the New American Standard Translation (NAS).
Ephesians 6:13 – Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Romans 13:1-5 – Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.
On to the meat and potatoes.
The Bible refers to the police as God’s ministers and God has granted awesome power to the police for the subduing of evil. This power includes arresting people and suspending their liberty, putting people in jail, starting civil and legal proceedings and the authority to use force, including deadly physical force, when necessary.
The Police Officer, whether you are aware or not the bible declares that they are a minister of God.
In ancient days, the warrior priests were referred to as Paladins. Holy Knights that used the blessings of the Lord to win victory over evil; the people who would do harm to the innocent.
Every day when I check into service, I know that it is fully possible during my shift that I may be killed or injured. Knowing that, I say a prayer for my fellow Officers and I, asking God for his protection, guidance and blessing to do what he sent us out to do.
Every cop has there own way of praying. Some do it before work, some do it while heading to a ‘hot’ call and some save that prayer for when the crap hits the fan and they really need that extra help.
I realized a while ago that the work I do in the course of my patrol is in of itself righteous. I take bad people off the street. I find weapons and drugs and remove them from the public arena to make the streets safer for the law abiding citizens. These are people that have been lead astray by the Devil. I’ll sometimes preach a short Word to them and council them. It’s part of what I was meant to do. I understand that people mess up but I don’t believe anyone is beyond redemption. I’ve arrested people for almost anything you can think of and some of those people have written me letters saying how their life has changed completely since I’ve talked to them.
Knowing that God is watching over me is comforting and helps me cope with everything that happens in the course of my day. There are things that happen during the course of a shift that are so horrible that normal people probably would never witness something like it in their entire lives, but I see that sort of thing weekly. If I wasn’t able to talk with God I’d have lost my mind by now.
Every Officer has pictures in their head. By pictures I mean scenes that they’ve been to that they remember randomly in their minds and they bring back all sorts of emotions. Sometimes its a murder scene or a car crash, a rape victim or a child dead from SIDS. The pictures we carry with us are meant for us alone to bear.
You see, if I were to tell you a story that went with one of my pictures, it would now become your picture too. That wouldn’t be fair or proper of me to do. I wouldn’t want to pass on one of those pictures to a loved one, such as my wife, so instead I talk to God about them.
He is there to listen and understand. Sadly, things like movies or local news sometimes trigger those pictures to resurface and you’ll catch a cop with watery eyes every now and then. Those watery eyes aren’t because the news is reporting a child missing, it may be because that officer handled a call where a child was reported missing but he found the kid floating in a canal behind the house and had to be the one to tell the child’s parents that their little boy wasn’t going to be coming home. He probably sees that kids face every single time he hears of a child missing. Those demons are too much for someone to bear alone and God helps with taming those memories and keeping the Officers will to face the day strong.
You see, without knowing that there is a reason for all the chaos in the world and without faith in a place where the Good go once they die, then there is no real reason to do what we do and protect the lives of the people we serve.
If I didn’t believe that Heaven and Hell existed then I couldn’t effectively do my job. I know that evil is out there and I know I was sent to stop it. I know that if I am going to die that at least I fulfilled the reason God put me here on earth for.
I am the holy justice of the Lord and he is my armor, shield and sword.
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