In the last few years, law enforcement officers have taken a serious public relations hit. Then again, there has been disdain for cops and constables much farther back than the summer of 2020. In the present, technological advancements make every smart phone owner a photojournalist, and bad actions by bad actors who wear a uniform and badge spread across social media platforms faster than you can say “speed trap.” Compounding the problem is our inherent mistrust of authority, our inclination to rebel against all authority, and attention seeking politicians pushing defund the police policy. Most people get nervous around police officers, and others just don’t like cops. Despite the image distortion, wearing the badge is a noble profession for Christian men.
Law enforcement is a tough career path. Those who walk a beat or patrol neighborhoods where bad actors run experience far more interactions with the law breaking than they do with the law abiding. The job is dangerous. In the last ten days our local news has covered the deaths of three officers in the region who died in the line of duty. Each was confronting a bad guy who gained the upper hand and killed the good guy. The job has a mental toll, pushing the demographic to higher levels of substance abuse and suicide beyond other careers. The job is hard on relationships. Divorce rates are consistently higher among law enforcement than the general population.
Why would anyone want the job? It appears less and less want to wear a badge, patrol the streets, protect the innocent, and promote peace.
No one is surprised then that departments across the nation are having great difficulty reaching a full staff. For example, in 2010 the New Orleans Police Department employed 1,500 police. Today, that number is 944. Closer to home, the Minneapolis Police Department currently employs about 550 officers. The number should be over 900. In 2014 the city of St. Paul received 794 applications for officer positions in the police department. In December 2022 they received 54 applications.
For all the negatives, law enforcement is a noble profession, and one Christian men should consider.
Fundamentally, law enforcement officers exist to prevent the spread of violence, a behavior consistent with the character of God. In our church’s recent study of the book of Joshua, we considered God’s establishment of the cities of refuge in the newly inherited land. In the new land, God directed the strategic placement of centers whose existence was to provide a safe place for any who took the life of another without intent, without malice, or by accident.
Once inside the city’s gates, the killer was safe from the “avenger of blood,” a close family member charged with the responsibility to right the wrong that occurred in the death. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and in this case, life for life. But the death was not murder, and no further violence need occur. To stall the violence and slow the spread of the same, God directs the construction and procedures for the cities of refuge. God’s character is to slow the spread of violence. Christian law enforcement officers do the same. Law enforcement is a noble profession for Christian men to pursue.
Therefore, We…
Promote the profession among our young men, and, yes, the emphasis on men only for this profession is intentional.
Support Christian law enforcement officers in their efforts to slow the spread by caring for their marriages, watching out for their lives, promoting their character development as they live in a world of wickedness, and praying for their physical and spiritual wellbeing.
We commit not to spread violence and thereby contribute to their hardship.
May God bless and care for Christians in law enforcement who promote peace and slow the spread of violence.
As always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.