This year, with so much negative news surrounding law enforcement, a paralyzing fear of death can take hold. While officers themselves may possess a certain stoicism, it’s often their loved ones who grapple with this anxiety as they send them off to work each day.
There’s an old story that illustrates two different mindsets. Two football coaches are evaluating college recruits during a one-on-one drill. One recruit, physically larger, repeatedly knocks his opponent down. Yet, the smaller, more tenacious athlete keeps getting back up, ready for more. One coach remarks, “I want the guy that keeps getting up; there’s no quit in him.” The other coach replies, “I want the guy that keeps knocking him on his butt.”
The ranks of law enforcement are filled with both types of individuals. While officers are certainly aware of alarming trends and potential dangers, conversations with their families often reveal that they are the ones most affected by a sense of dread. Peace officers often believe, at their core, that they will be the ones to neutralize the threat, not the other way around. However, reality sometimes dictates a different outcome, and we must confront this possibility.
While it offers little comfort, statistically, loved ones are more likely to die in a traffic fatality than a peace officer is to be shot and killed in the line of duty. The tragic reality is that murders are intentional acts, while accidents are not.
Cops are, by nature, courageous individuals. We need to share our courage and confidence with our families in generous measure. We must reassure them that, regardless of the circumstances, we possess the will to survive and will fight through adversity. It’s a general principle of success that people tend to achieve what they focus on. However, this can work against us if the focus is primarily negative. This explains why one warrior can continue fighting despite severe wounds, while another person might succumb to a seemingly minor injury. The illustration is extreme, but it highlights the power of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It would be unwise to offer spouses guarantees that nothing bad will ever happen to their officer. That’s simply not realistic. Instead, we need to consistently remind them of our confident nature and the safety measures we take while performing our duty. Dwelling on negativity and doom and gloom is detrimental.
Naturally, I encourage everyone to maintain a positive frame of mind regarding their work. This is one reason why faith is so important to me. If I’m about to walk through a door, I want to know what’s on the other side. That’s why I study the Bible. It’s not just a manual for quality of life issues; it also tells us what to expect after this life is over.
Peace officers wear a badge on their uniform. It symbolizes the shield carried by centurions into battle to protect them from harm. The Bible describes the armor of God, with the shield represented as faith. “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16 ESV).
It’s faith in knowing that God guides the righteous in combating evil, and even when the enemy defeats a warrior, the family of warriors is tasked with being God’s hands and feet. God can transform tragedy into triumph when He becomes our focal point. This process is difficult to articulate, but countless testimonials exist of personal stories where despair turned to comfort when people surrendered their will to God’s way and adopted an eternal perspective.
Isaiah wrote about this as he prophesied about the coming Messiah—Jesus: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Physical healing is secondary to spiritual healing. Consider all the people you know who have been healed. The Bible documents many miraculous healings performed by Jesus. Yet, ultimately, everyone still dies. So when Isaiah wrote, “with his wounds we are healed,” he’s referring to our spiritual wellbeing now, and in eternity.
For those who continue to suffer on earth, there is a healed body in heaven awaiting those who place their faith in Christ Jesus to be their savior and Lord in the here and now.
– Jim McNeff