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Monday, February 22, 2016

Don't Broad-Brush The Badge - #PoliceLivesMatter

God gave us civil authorities, and they do promote the general good welfare of the people.  They catch criminals, and they save lives.
Some have to deal with helping a lot of people who have gone through trauma.  They are willing to risk their lives in an often thankless job.

While there are always some bad apples when you are drawing personnel from the sinful, fallen, and depraved human race (some of the corruption being elected positions), most law enforcement people do try their best to be the "good guys" and protect the public.
Cynicism and callousness is a job hazard, so maybe you've met some rude officers.   Just remember that they deal with a lot of crummy guilty creeps, so it affects their outlook.

I've become acquainted with a few very nice law enforcement people in my life.  I'll admit that I have been guilty of blanketing our local small town police department with very negative feelings due to unfairness on one occasion (which still upsets me when I think of it...an unfair expensive vehicle towing where nothing was clear about not parking there).
We really shouldn't blame everybody on the force for the the few who blindly hold mistaken presuppositions.

We also shouldn't stereotype everyone of a different shade of skin due to a bad experience or two or even more.
What if the shoe were on the other foot, and people stereotyped you negatively?
Oh, you've had that happen?  Then you should know not to stereotype the police and all judges, etc.
Sin didn't pass over one shade of skin and land on another.  It doesn't pass over you and only hit those who chose to wear a uniform either.
We all inherited a sin nature after Adam first sinned, since we are all related....even if some people don't want to admit it.

Just because you or someone you know had a bad experience with the police, that should not make you assume that whenever someone accuses a cop of wrongdoing that the accuser is right and the cop automatically guilty.

Sadly, there are some people who seem to live in a culture of fear or hatred of the police.  When the police come around, they make foolish decisions that cost them their lives.  If there is an issue with a police officer, talk it out.  Don't run away, or make sudden moves that could be determined to be threatening.
That only makes you look guilty, even if you aren't.

Some people accuse the entire justice system of being corrupt.  I'm sure there is corruption at times, but does the corruption really only go against certain types of people and not others?  If you think so, you are wrong.   Judges vary in decisions and sentencing, and it's not just based on shade of skin or wealth, or uniform.  Still, people from other countries can attest that our justice system is better than many other countries' courts...for sure!

We have a lot to be thankful for, and as a Christian I believe we should remember God expects us to obey authority as long as they don't require disobedience to God.

If you are a Christian, and you care about police officers,  you can actually get some Gospel tracts to share with them.
Let's try to remember to be thankful and not be prejudiced.
I think this is at least the second post I've done on this topic, but something I saw recently reminded me how we need to appreciate the police as well as sheriffs.
How about saying thank you now and then?

#PoliceLivesMatter

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