Should Respect for Governmental Authority Be Ignored in Times Like These?

The short answer is "No."

I watched some of the "news" this morning.

The media continues to undermine Presidential authority and the respect that should be shown to authority (as Scripture teaches).

I also notice that they have all but abandoned concern for the health of people.
You don't see them complaining very much about the mass gatherings or the risk of COVID-19...only maybe a brief mention.

Breaking the law is not peaceful.  

Yes, that means that people breaking curfew are not doing God's will (Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2:13-17).

If they are asked to disperse and refuse, law enforcement is perfectly justified in dispersing them.
Meanwhile, people's businesses have been damaged or ruined, people injured, and even murdered...in the name of protest. 

People have damaged monuments and police vehicles (which is something that costs the taxpayers money).

Can people not see the hypocrisy of those showing hate and doing damage to people and property? 

The police are recruited from the same sinful human race as everyone else, and those who protest them are not any less prone to sin. 

There are those in law enforcement who do their best every day.  

The main thing that is systemic is sin's presence in all of humankind.

The Bible teaches me to obey authorities.  It doesn't even say "just the ones who are nice."

It teaches us to love our neighbors.  It teaches love and prayer even for enemies.

America has the blessing of allowing people to address things in a lawful and peaceful way.

So, those who see bad things that they want to address can do it without breaking the laws or disrespecting authority.

Many countries do not have nearly as much freedom as we have.

The most common injustice in America that causes death is against babies in the womb.

Sadly, that has been made legal.

Some people seem to think they can be anarchists when they see something wrong, but this shouldn't be the case with Christians.

Have you ever hated or been angry with someone?

Matthew 5:21-22 shows that in God's sight anger can be as bad as murder.

Even righteous anger can quickly turn into unrighteous anger.

Have you ever lusted?

That is as bad as adultery in God's eyes.

God's justice always will prevail, but the whole human race is sinful regardless of color or ethnicity.

There is none righteous.

We are born a sinful race.  All of us.

We need forgiveness and mercy, and the only way to have that is through faith in Christ ... to have His perfect righteousness credited to our account.  He died to satisfy God's just wrath against the sins of all who put their trust in Him, and He rose again (Romans 4:25).

Please watch this ➨What is the Gospel message?

Standing Up In The Face Of Danger - Las Vegas Shooting

They stood up. They protected.  They went into the face of danger.

The police in Las Vegas acted like good soldiers in a time of horror.

Some protest the police and/or bend their knee to complain about this country and authorities (instead of giving thanksgiving for their blessings).

While the police draw from the same fallen human race as the rest of us, most of them will risk their lives to save the necks of the people of this country.

When I heard about the police standing up and risking their lives, it moved me.

We are so stirred up by heroic efforts of humans to save others and rightfully so.

Yet, it reminded me of something our family has been reading.

Does the prisoner in war love the man who, at the risk of his own life, breaks through the enemies lines, rescues him and sets him free?  Does the drowning sailor love the man who plunges into the sea, dives after him, catches him by the hair of his head and by a mighty effort saves him from a watery grave?  A very child can answer such questions as these.  Just in the same way, and upon the same principles, a true Christian loves Jesus Christ.  - J.C. Ryle (from the book "Holiness") 

I struggle with whether I love Christ like that, but when I think about it that way - it reminds me how thankful I should be to Christ and how it should make me love Him like that.
I feel so wretched that I don't love Him the way I want to.
His death means more than even heroic policemen, soldiers, or firemen.
He died for the sins of those who were His enemies.
He chose to rescue sinful humans by taking their sins on Himself to suffer the punishment for them by dying - shedding His blood for them on a cross.
His perfect righteousness is placed on those to whom He gives life to - to whom He grants repentance and faith in Him.
And He is also fully God as well as fully man!

How little I can rely on my feelings and my own thoughts.
No matter how I feel, I am His.  He has made me want Him, and I won't give up even though I have to keep fighting my own thinking and the doubts due to my own feelings and thoughts.

Do you love Christ?  Are you His?

GOSPEL

A Response To Criticism of The Police

While police are sinners like the rest of us, God has placed them in authority. 

Rudeness by an officer doesn't excuse disobedience. 

Jesus was reviled, and yet He didn't revile in return. 

Have you ever had only seconds to make a decision that could save a life? 

The police have to make these decisions.
God has placed people in authority...even those that aren't believers. 

Sometimes they mess up, but we should be careful about how readily we judge guilt.

There are Christian police officers out there as well.

You know what is rude? Today a young child was told by his dad that a Christian cop was "the bad people."
How do you think that makes him feel?

These guys often are willing to put their lives in danger for you, but how much thanks do they get?

Bible on submission:

1 Peter 2:13-20
Romans 13

We are to pray for leaders:

1 Timothy 2:1-2

How Can You Avoid God’s Judgment?

Don't Assume

How we act shouldn't be determined by what we think that others are thinking.

Hate is not simply a white issue. It's a human sin issue. 

Sometimes I think that people are aiding the prejudices of non-white people by excusing their prejudice and anger as being justified. 

We-they mentalities are not good no matter what shade you are...white, black, brown, and other variations of melanin pigmentation.
Cultural differences do exist, but we don't have to be clones.

Sadly, police officers have been thrown under the bus by many "Christian" leaders and others.
In their haste to be understanding, they are actually encouraging sinful attitudes.

Christians, of all people, should understand that all people are created in God's image.
We are taught to love even our enemies.
The police are no worse than others, and we as Christians are to respect authority.

So, maybe you've had some bad experiences with someone in a uniform or with a different shade of skin. Yeah,  those can happen.

It takes time to get over those, but we must still remember to not assume that everyone is the same (though I know it can be hard). 

Remember that it wasn't everybody of that shade of skin or that particular uniform that did something wrong or seemed rude or mean to you. 

People are responsible for their own sins or bad judgment, and it could just as well have been someone with the same shade of skin as you or without any uniform. 

It could also be that your preconceived ideas perceived malice that was not actually there.

The police are taught not to voice their feelings or sympathy, but that doesn't mean that they don't care.
We can't read minds as well as we think we can!

You who do not like it when people assume the worst about you, do you do the same to others?

To All Law Enforcement

I care about your life. Thank you for your service. I don't want you to die, but there are no guarantees any of us will live to see another day on earth.

I care enough that I have been praying for many of you, and I want you to know the most important thing of all.

All of us will one day die and face God. He created mankind in His image, but you know better than most how depraved mankind is. The first human beings sinned, & we all sin.

Lying, lusting, coveting, stealing, adultery, hatred towards each other, gossiping, & not honoring God for Who He is are all sins that deserve eternal punishment in Hell.

No matter how moral we try to be or how much we do to serve others, it can't save us from Hell.  

We could never be good enough.
This is because God is infinitely holy and perfect and just, and we are not. 

He will judge the world, and the standard by which He will judge is His own character, and the only way to be saved from the wrath we deserve is to trust in Jesus alone.

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, and He was born of a virgin, lived a perfect sinless life, performed miracles as signs of Who He is, and then He intentionally died on a cross even though innocent.
He did this as the final perfect sacrifice Lamb to take away the sin of the world (having sins placed on Him), so that everyone who repents & trusts in His substitutionary death will be declared righteous as though they had lived Christ's life.

Christ Jesus traded His life for those who at the time were enemies, so that all those who believe will not only be forgiven, but have eternal life in a place of eternal joy with Him in Heaven.

Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death, so that all who trust in Him will be justified before God....set free of eternal punishment and made to be adopted children of God!  Those who are His will also have bodies resurrected one day.

I hope and pray someone will read this, and I know God is Sovereign over that, as He is Sovereign to call and bring people to faith in Himself.
He is trustworthy.

Please read the Bible, as it is God's Word, and it is where you will find the truth.

If you want to start with John or Romans, go ahead.  Then I would encourage people to read the whole Book!

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB

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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

On The Box: Maybe If We Had Been Muslim or Jewish

You might find the blog link from On The Box interesting to think about. I know that some policemen are nice and some are rude (they are human and not the way I imagined they were when I was young). We are to respect and obey authority, so long as they don't tell us to disobey God. Also, as Americans we have the privilege to use the proper channels and question or if need be to challenge in court when authority is exceeded and the law is not applied correctly or is misunderstood by the officers meant to uphold the law... You can click on the blog title to read the rest.
On The Box: Maybe If We Had Been Muslim or Jewish: "Our time at Comic Con on Saturday was amazing. It made an afternoon of evangelism on Hollywood Boulevard seem like a quiet afternoon at th..."