Police Devotional 10-28-20
Bearing the Sword
“…he beareth not the sword in vain:” (Romans 13:4)
Deadly force is the most serious issue you will deal with as a police officer. The government can end a person’s life legally in two ways: one is the death penalty. The other is by a police officer using deadly force. Death penalties often involve long appeals, but if you face a deadly threat, you don’t have time to deliberate. You don’t want to use deadly force when you shouldn’t, but if you don’t use it when you should, the bad guy may use it on you or an innocent citizen.
Police work is an honorable profession, but anyone who wants to be a cop needs to be able to answer “yes” honestly to the question, “Can I shoot if I need to?” I didn’t say you should WANT to shoot. If you WANT to shoot, you shouldn’t be a cop.
Many cops have never been in a shooting, even good cops with years on the job in tough areas. Shooting experience or the absence of it doesn’t make you better or worse. Ever been in a near-shooting, where the bad guy suddenly saw the light and complied, or you saw another way to resolve the situation? A better question is, How many times have you been in a near-shooting?
If you’ve been in a near-shooting that was resolved without gunfire, were you disappointed that you didn’t get to shoot? If you were, please find another line of work. But if you were relieved that no shots were fired, that shows you’re a decent person. Decent people don’t want to shoot people. In fact, if records were kept of how often cops resolve near-shootings without gunfire, we would have more strong evidence against cheapshot accusations that cops are trigger-happy.
Jesus said, “…he [God] maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,” (Matthew 5:45) Good and bad things happen to people, including cops. No decent person wants to live with having shot someone. But what if an innocent citizen or a cop is killed because you didn’t shoot when you should have? You can pray that you never have to shoot. Yet you should also pray for the grace to do right—as well as practice your shooting skills–in case you ever do.
Romans 13:4 says a cop “…beareth not the sword in vain:” God said that, so God knows that violent people will prey on decent citizens, and someone has to confront them on the terms they themselves set. So no matter who says you’re the bad guy, God says that you’re the good guy.
If you can resolve a problem without deadly force, or any force at all, great. Yet remember that the suspect created the danger for you and decent people. The life of a suspect who endangers innocent people is not more important than the life of a police officer trying to protect innocent people. When suspects’ lives are more important than police lives, then suspects’ lives are also more important than citizens’ lives, because police are on the job for citizens.
Force of any kind is never pretty, especially on camera. Yet in order to serve decent citizens, you need to be ready to use any level of force at any time, so have your options prepared and at hand. Finally, the job can be dangerous. Are you sure you’ll be in heaven when you die? If not, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org
Home, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 10/28/2020
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822