Cop Hating Needs To Stop

So you're a coward, punk, loser and think it's cool to kill a cop?  You think the cops are the bad guys?  You think you're tough because you can intimidate good and decent people and steal, injure, kill?  I've got some bad news for you.  You lose.  That's not future tense.  You've already lost.  You are lost.

I have two internal positions on this and they're tough to reconcile.  On one hand I'd like to help you save your soul from hell.  On the other hand I'd like to send you there myself.  I doubt I'm the only Christian with this conundrum.  It's called sin and it exists in each one of us.  Some of us call on the power of the Holy Spirit to keep it at bay while others embrace it.  Sometimes you're face to face with it and you've got a split second to make a choice.  That happens to police officers all around the world every day.  That's the thin blue line.

I've had the honor of getting to know numerous police officers over the last several years.  I've spent a lot of time with them.  I go to church with them. I've patrolled with them.  I watched them come across wanted criminals while on "routine traffic stops" and I watched them take those individuals to jail.  I watched them say good-bye to a brother who had his life cut short by a thug.

You think the "militarization" of our police forces is unreasonable? I say you stand in front as a shield or step aside and let the ones who have sworn to protect us put on their armor and go to battle against the evil forces of this world.  I say we give our men and women in blue every resource of training and protection to make sure they get home to their families after each shift.  I say don't be a criminal and you have a 99.99% chance of never encountering a police officer in a negative way.  I say anyone in public office who is not a defender of the defenders is not fit to serve in that office.

So what now?  First of all evil will continue to run things around here until Christ returns so we have to continue to deal with it.  I'll stand guard for my family and others whenever possible and you should too.  We need to support our police and military, the armed defenders of good.  Secondly, we need to pray.  We need to pray for the salvation of souls and the turning away from evil.  Thirdly, we need to put Christ's grace towards us into action towards others.  We need to do what we can individually, in groups and as communities to teach and model what is good.  My personal belief is that relationships is what will make the difference.  Faceless overtaxed government programs will never work if at the end of the line one person is not having a conversation with another person and telling them that they care about them.

So the conundrum continues.  Grace and salvation through Jesus Christ is available to all who choose to accept it.  For those who choose to embrace evil you will walk a line of uncertainty as to whether your next victim will be someone who will not tolerate your actions towards them and cut you off from the option to choose eternal life while you still can.

A.J.