......As a police officer we are never off-duty (even today, having been retired for 18 years, I still think like a cop) just as we are never a Christian who is off-duty.  We do not let our Christian life down when we are on vacation.....

Jack, Continued:

As a cop, being a cop was as natural as breathing and you can’t stop breathing and live – thus it is as with a Christian, as we grow in Him we live for Him and cannot imagine what it would be like without Him.

Jack tried to teach the rest of us observation techniques.  Some have a knack for it and with training, practice and experience they become quite good.  I didn’t go above adequate, but I did learn – a little.  I was told that after a few weeks on Graveyard, going through the alley’s and around businesses to check for break ins and keeping busy, I would develop what all graveyard officers develop; the ability to tell when something is not right.  They were correct. 

When you get to know your patrol areas, you can tell if a trashcan has been moved a few inches, partly because if you don’t you might hit it, but mainly because everyone is a creature of habit and do things much the same way day in and day out.  You learned to look for the things that were not the same as they had been in the past.  Sometimes it was because a criminal had done something to change the scene.  Maybe it was a light on that normally was not on; it could be that the moved trashcan had been moved to use as a step stool to a window, or had been moved to cover something up.  Most of us could do that, but Jack would be able to tell if a handle had been turned the wrong way, or if there was a new mark on the window or door, which might indicate a break in, from his car several feet away.

He had several toolboxes he had filled up over the years from finding screwdrivers, hammers and other tools that had been somehow dropped on the street.  No other officer in the area could match this man’s skills in observation.  He saw things that no one else did, unless he pointed them out.  Consequently, Jack found and solved a LOT of burglaries, car prowls and other similar crimes.

Time came when Psychological tests were being given by Police Departments around the nation to help in the selection process of officers.  Some departments still use them; others have done away with them.  However, our Civil Service Board and Chief had decided to see if they could be of assistance to our department. 

Several of us were asked to take a test to help obtain a profile of officers in our department.  It was already known by then that different departments were looking for specific personality traits in their officers.  Portland, Oregon was one of the first in our area that had used these tests in the hiring process.  They weeded out a lot of men and women.  They made it clear to them it was not a reflection on them, but they did not meet the profile Portland was looking for. 

I knew a number of officers that were not hired by Portland for this reason.  These same people had gone to other departments and did very well as officers, supervisors and some had made Chief of Police.  We were taking the test so the person who would be administering and rating the test could develop an understanding of what made good officers in our department.

We took the test in the city council room, which was also a multi-purpose room for meetings, training, etc. of city employees.  We were sitting around the council table in their comfortable chairs taking the test.  If you have taken test like these, you know that there are questions that are just strange or different.  When one of us read one of these, we would laugh out loud and often share it.  Nope, that wasn’t the way it was supposed to be done, but it was a loose group and testing process.  It didn’t really hurt anything and it was fun.

One question that stuck out more than any other and we all had a very good laugh over it was:  “Do you often see things that no one else sees?”  Of course what the test was looking for was people who had some problems with their imagination, etc., but I had to look over to Jack and asked, “Jack how are you going to answer that one?”  He didn’t tell us, just laughed with us and shook his head.  But if anyone could honestly answer that question, yes, it was Jack.

Job 23:10-11 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

¹¹ My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

Job displayed a confidence in both His God and Job’s walk with God.  Even though he was going through circumstances that only those that have gone through can appreciate, he remained true to God.  Loss of his family and fortune would decimate most men, and while he struggled, Job never lost faith in God.  He was able to say that:

Job 27:5-6  God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

⁶ My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

We are well aware of the outcome, Job was justified, while his faith was tested and he was tempted he remained true to God.  Eventually his rightful place on earth was restored and he is an example to us.  No matter what be falls us, we must believe that God is our God, Jesus is our Savior and the Holy Spirit will help us.

We know that God is in charge and that being faithful to Him is critical to our spiritual well-being.  But it is also critical to the world that we remain true to God.  We are watched – even though we do not realize it at times – people who are searching for a spiritual cleansing want to see if accepting Christ works, or is it just another ploy by man to get money?

We can name names of those Christian leaders who have fallen from Grace into the sins that have beset them and made a mockery of their ministry.  Those names probably are far better known than those leaders who have stood fast in the faith and true to God. 

In America we are far more interested in the foibles of men, than the success.  For some reason we love to hear of those that do evil, but barely listen about those that are faithful.

We need by look at the NFL to see that fact.  There are over 2000 players in any given year that play professional sports.  Of those 2000 there is only a very few, not even a percentage point, that commit crimes or other bad acts – yet people revel in those bad acts.  They can’t hear enough, read enough and ‘twitter’ or whatever it is, enough. 

Slightest comments are followed by millions and amplified over and over by news media and the social media.  The social media has to be one of the most used inventions by satan.  Social media in and of itself is neutral, it is how it is being used to discredit, lie, bully, gossip, etc. that makes it so bad.  Satan relishes it. 

You don’t hear of the 1990 football players that live their live as most people live it.  They work hard, they have families they dearly love, they strive to be the best at what they do, they give to their communities, they are not all that different from the rest of us – yet those few that commit the offenses are who we hear about.

Social media has become a phenomenon because people can say whatever they want and hide behind anonymity.  They can lie, bully, etc. without repercussions.  Nothing is secret, nothing is sacred, it is far more fun to try and destroy people than it is too build them up.

Job was an excellent example of how to maintain faith in God throughout out troubles.  But do we apply it to ourselves?

Paul made this statement several times:  1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

What a statement of incredible confidence.  He was so sure of his relationship with Christ, with his clarity of thought and life led for Christ that he bid others to do what he was doing.

I have been friends or acquaintances of men who I try to emulate.  They seem to be exactly as God wants a Christian man to be, they are wise, faithful, loving and giving.  They don’t seem to take many turns that aren’t guided by God – but I have also seen them make mistakes.  However, it rarely is a mistake of lasting effect, they are human and are not perfect.  A mistake is not necessarily a moment of destruction of reputation.

I have made many errors of judgment in my life, many of them.  I have done and said things that were not things I would want anyone else to do.  I read how much faith Job had; I read these lines by Paul and frankly I feel a failure.  I cannot say, in all honesty follow me, do what I do and you will live a righteous life in Christ.

Yet, I also know that being perfect has only been accomplished by one person, the man Jesus Christ.  How do I reconcile my fear of past sins standing in the way of someone else who may look at me and say, “I would like to be like him?”  When they find out that I have been FAR LESS than a Christian should be, what will that do to their walk in Christ?

This is a thought I have struggled with all my life.  I still struggle with it, I would never want to be a stumbling block in someone’s search for God and salvation.  Yet, I know I have.

I know I have to get over that.  My first true Christian mentor, Bert, was far from a perfect man.  While I trusted his judgment and looked at his as being wise and someone to emulate; while he assisted both myself and my family in times of trials – he would come over late at night when I called because Vicki was in such pain and cried and shrieked and we couldn’t help her – he would hold her for sometimes hours and pray.

Yet, I learned that he was not always so accommodating.  I was advised by a member of the church that there was a time in Bert’s life you couldn’t count on him.  That member was not bitter, she had made a comment about early struggles and I said, you should have called Bert.  She said that Bert was not someone you could call at that time.  I, in my naiveté, said, ‘You can always call on Bert.’  She didn’t elaborate, didn’t condemn Bert, she just looked at me with a look that told me I was wrong.

I learned as I spent time with him that his life was at times full of anger fueled by alcohol, a man who a Christian would never go to for help.  He was honest and open with me about it.

As I look back on that particular time, I know there were those that had been ‘hurt’ by Bert, or at least did not trust him.  That, however, did not make him less of a mentor to me, I knew he wasn’t perfect and accepted that – but I also valued his advice and love.

Somehow, I must reconcile those facts with a stronger faith in God and an focus on now, making my life more dependent on Him so I can say as Paul said, follow me even as I follow Christ, and not lead anyone astray.

If we become so fearful of our past and fearful that we cannot lead a Christian life worth emulating, we allow satan to be victorious over us – that will never do!

Later,

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again