Friday; January 6

Not long ago, I got a summons for jury duty. Coming out of a career in law enforcement I was used to being summoned to testify in court – but, I have never actually served on a jury. I have to admit that when I first got the summons, I did what most people do … I tried to figure out if there was any way I could get out of it … but, then it hit me. Over the last several months I have talked a lot about being a good citizen and doing what we can to make sure our communities are safe and our people are protected. How hypocritical is it to challenge people to stand up to protect our community and shirk my own personal responsibility! I don’t know if I will ever be selected to serve on a jury considering my past and current connection with law enforcement, but one thing is for certain, if I am going to call on others to stand up to violence and injustice in our community, I’d better be willing to take my turn at it.

As I thought about it, a biblical passage came to mind that states, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17). I am not going to go as far as saying that not serving on a jury is “sin”, but it did give me a fresh perspective on walking the walk. It is one thing to make a statement about what should be done, but integrity is doing it! We can’t merely talk a good game, when we get a chance to participate, we’d better be willing to play up to our capabilities!

Let’s avoid the hypocrisy of merely looking good. Let’s take a stand of doing good!

Think About It!

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