Tuesday; January 4

One of the challenges of Law Enforcement is not knowing just how much good you are doing. There are some statistics that can be extrapolated, but some of the most important can’t be determined. We’ll never know how many crashes are prevented by a trooper doing traffic enforcement. We’ll never have someone come up and say, “I was planning on robbing that little old lady but seeing your patrol car coming down the road changed my mind.”. We can’t count the number of times the peaceful presence of an officer stopped an argument from escalating from a verbal altercation to an assault or even a murder. While this lack of information can cause society to diminish the role our officers play in our communities, the real challenge is found in hindering officers from finding their own job satisfaction. We just can’t tell how much influence we have – and that can be discouraging.
While this is a challenge in the world of policing, I also believe it is a struggle in Christianity as well. We live in a world that is quick to condemn Christian principles and might even declare them irrelevant; however, there is no real way to measure just how valuable they are. We’ll never know when a kind word helped someone have a better day. Not everyone who feels our brotherly love recognizes it (much less thanks us for it it). We won’t be able to count the times our peaceful, calm demeanor changed someone’s situation and maybe even their lives.
When we feel discouraged about not feeling like we are making a difference, let’s remember the word of the Apostle Paul, “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.” (II Thessalonians 3:13). We just never know the influence our good can have on people.

Think About It!

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