Police Devotional 9-21-20

Choose Life

“…choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

I knew of several cops in my career who’d killed themselves. As I recall, the issue in many cases didn’t seem to be mental illness, but emotional despondency over some bad situation in their lives. Why do cops kill themselves? More importantly, how can cops learn not to resolve their problems by suicide? You may be a cop going through a bad situation and you’re thinking of suicide, and no one but God knows that. I don’t have all the answers, but here are a few thoughts that may help you avoid an irreversible bad choice.

1. DON’T act on emotional impulse. “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” (Deuteronomy 32:29) To consider your latter end is to think about what will happen in the long run. Impulsive, emotional decisions are usually bad ones. A guy may not think about going to jail when his girlfriend mouths off to him and he slaps her, but he should think about it—BEFORE he raises a hand to her. Afterward is too late. PLEASE DO NOT act on impulse.

Do you want to kill yourself out of anger against someone? What about people you love: parents, kids, close friends, other cops? Are you willing to make them cry and break their hearts, maybe permanently? If you’re a breadwinner, you’ll also hurt loved ones financially. Are you sure you want to do that?

2. DON’T act like the Lone Ranger. It’s no secret that the job is stressful for lots of reasons. You can find people who want to help and talk with you during a crisis—and not blab. You may know others besides cops to confide in, people who understand tough times. One of my best friends and closest confidantes was never a cop, but he’s a Vietnam vet.

3. DON’T assume God doesn’t want to hear from you. Psalm 145:18 says, “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.” It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been to church, touched a Bible, or prayed in years. God is a lot kinder than you may give Him credit for.

Quick story: God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach. Jonah refused. He boarded a ship to Tarshish. God sent a fierce storm. The heathen sailors were scared. They asked their false gods for help. No answers. They told Jonah to pray to his God. He told them he was a Hebrew and worshipped the God of heaven. Now they were really scared. They knew Israel’s God was most powerful. Jonah told them to throw him overboard. They didn’t want to, but finally, they asked God not to let them perish for Jonah’s life, then threw him over. God calmed the sea for them. They turned to faith in the true God. God used the storm to draw them to Himself. Maybe He’s doing the same with you.

4. DON’T choose death. Choose life. Problems may not be resolved as you want them to be, but they can be resolved. God says to “…choose life,” Don’t let the devil convince you to choose death.

One final thought: I was at a death scene several years ago. A bed in the basement was splattered with blood. The victim’s body was maybe twenty feet away, near the washtub. Homicide was called in. It turned out to be a suicide. The victim had lain in the bed, put a gun under his chin, and pulled the trigger. He hadn’t died immediately. He got up and went to the washtub, maybe to clean up, but he bled out. If he regretted what he had done after he’d pulled the trigger, it was too late to do anything about it.

Please, choose life. Most importantly, choose eternal life by receiving Jesus as your Saviour. Please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?” to learn more.

Brian Miller 9/21/2020

Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822