Police Devotional 4-12-21
“Therefore all things that ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
These words are important words. We know they’re important because they’re in the Bible. The Bible is the most important book in the world. It is God’s Word: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” (2 Timothy 3:16) God gave it to us to teach us about Him, to tell His love for us, teach us faith, and guide us.
The Bible is also a powerful book: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) The words of the Bible are powerful words that touch the heart. They speak to people’s lives in ways that man’s word cannot.
Not everything in the Bible is easily understood, but most of it is. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:” (Proverbs 9:10) That’s easy to understand. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105) So is that. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) That is, too.
Ever heard of the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”? It’s based on this verse. The Golden Rule is a great integrity self-check. If you’re a cop, get into the habit of asking yourself if you treat people the way you would want to be treated if the roles were switched.
The Golden Rule isn’t your only guide for the job. As a cop, you have to deal with criminals. Sometimes they’re willing to do violence, even to you. If you’re fighting with a suspect, you probably won’t think about “doing unto him as you would have him do unto you.” Nor should you. If you feel a tug on your gun and realize he’s trying to take it, you have a good idea of what he intends to “do unto you” if he gets it.
Or say you get a drunk driver. Will you “do unto him” by giving him a ride home and not arresting him? Maybe you’ve saved him the expense of bail, fines, and increased insurance rates, but you haven’t helped decent citizens. What if he goes out later and kills an innocent person when he should have been in jail?
Still, the Golden Rule is a good commonsense guideline. Say you get a domestic call. A woman is being abused by her live-in. She puts up with it because she loves him or they have kids together, but eventually, she gets fed up and calls the cops. She has to prosecute. You can’t make that decision for her. Yet if you had a sister in that situation, wouldn’t you want the cops to help her as much as they humanly could?
Finally, and most importantly, these words are important because they were spoken by the most important person in history: Jesus Christ, God the Son. He is not only most important for who He is but for what He did. He died to pay the sin-debt that we owed before a holy God, was buried, and rose again. One day every knee will bow to Jesus, and every tongue will “…confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:11) Even those who refused to receive Him will have to bow to Him.
Have you received Jesus as Saviour? If you want to see how to have eternal forgiveness of sins and a home in heaven, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org
Brian Miller 4/12/2021
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822