Prodding the Leader’s Conscience
David was the king of Israel. Joab was the captain of the host, the supreme commander of the army. Joab was appointed to this position. That fact is important, as we will see later.
One day David wanted a census taken of all the citizens of Israel. He told Joab and the rulers to do it. Why did David want to know how many people were under him? Pride, maybe? Taking a census was a bad idea. Joab said so. He asked David, “Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?” (2 Samuel 24:3) Joab’s commanders also warned David against this decision. Still, the king gave the order.
For nine months and twenty days, taxpayer money was wasted as soldiers gathered information for the census instead of training, deployment, or other defense-related tasks. God convicted David of sin in this matter, but not Joab. Joab was following orders, orders to which he had objected. God blamed David.
Political job or not, Joab was a soldier at heart. He did not just obey this bad order quietly. He risked his position by telling David the truth and arguing with him. David could have said, “You don’t like my orders, Joab? Then I’ll demote you and transfer you to a lousy duty station.” To his credit, he didn’t. Yet David, a soldier himself and “a man after God’s own heart,” as 1 Samuel 13:14 calls him, should have known Joab was right. Still, when the order was given, Joab could honestly say he had tried to stop it.
It is no secret that the higher you go in rank in a police department, the further you get from the nitty-gritty of police work. Most police work is done by patrol officers. Lower-ranking bosses may help when they can, but most “shots fired,” “robbery in progress,” “suspect with a gun,” and other dangerous calls are handled by patrol officers. Most officers killed in the line of duty are also patrol officers.
It is also no secret that an officer with connections could attain an appointed position, even if his work record is only average. Not all appointees are mediocre. No doubt many have done excellent work. Yet it can be true at times that “it’s not what you know, but whom you know.” As a police officer, your job is to deal with offenders and help decent people, no matter your rank. If you hold rank or a high position, use it to prod the leaders’ consciences. Do not be a “yes man” to bad policy just to keep a comfortable job.
Most political leaders have no police experience and may listen to the wrong people regarding policy. Does your department have policies and practices that discourage good police work, encourage criminals, defy common sense, or can get officers killed? If it does, and if you are a ranking officer, have you ever spoken out against these policies? If not, why not? If you are in a comfortable job, are you afraid you will be demoted and transferred to inner-city patrol because you got “the wrong people” mad at you?
If a leader wants to be a petty tyrant who implements bad policy and punishes those who dare to object, even when they’re speaking truth, so be it. If a ranking officer refuses to speak against bad policy in order to keep a comfortable job, so be it. Both will answer to God. Yet if you speak against bad policy and end up on night shift in the inner city, you will be there with a clean conscience. You will also be in a place where you can help citizens and officers, especially young officers, to do the job cops are supposed to do.
It is fascinating how much useful information we get from the Bible! Most importantly, the Bible tells us how to have forgiveness of our sins and eternal life by receiving Jesus as our personal Saviour. Please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?” to learn more.
Brian Miller 11/19/2025