Thinking Out Loud: Why Is There So Much Hatred Towards Cops? Why SO Much Hatred at All?
Last night as my husband and I were getting ready for bed, I received a text.
"(Officer's name) is very, very grave."
It was earlier in the day that the officer was shot as he and others responded to a shots fired call, and in the process, he took a round to the head.
Just like that another life was nearly snuffed out.
Just like that another department was potentially facing a loss--another family receiving the call to hurry to their loved one's bedside.
14 men/4 K-9's lost in July/August. I just couldn't take the news of yet another.
I climbed up on the bed and my husband and I bowed our heads as we held hands.
"Father, we come to you and ask for a miracle. We know that you are the Great Physician and Healer, and we ask that you invade that hospital room with your holy angels and breathe life back into this officer's body. Lord, we ask that the doctors and nurses will be amazed at the miracle taking place--that it will be unexplainable by mere human standards. We pray, Father, that you surround his family and co-workers with your peace and that you be glorified within this tragic situation."
After praying a few more minutes, I got up and washed my face, then fell into bed with the weight of the world on my shoulders. Why, Lord, is there so much hatred towards cops?
I wrestled with the answer. I wanted to blame someone, but all I could think of was that we live in a broken world with broken, desperate people.
Cops are daily up against those who have somehow gotten themselves into situations they know are not right, and in heated moments of desperation, do things they normally wouldn't do.
They also face those who have been so wounded by the world that they believe their life doesn't matter, nor the lives of anyone else. These people take what they can get and waste what they don't want.
The worst, however, are those who are just plain evil. These are the ones who have sold their soul to the devil and have no way of escape. They sneer at anything good and hate everyone with authority.
Each of these are the broken, the displaced, the unruly, and the outcasts. If they don't make the rules they break the rules.
For them, they hate because they have not truly experienced total love--the love of JESUS.
Oh, it may sound cliche. You might roll your eyes at that thought, but the Bible tells us that the "heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9), and it also reminds us that Jesus is the only cure.
But here's the kicker...it's not just the "bad guys" on the street. Many cops hate too.
They grow angry at the continuous disrespect and belittling. They often feel disgust at the despicable acts towards the innocent.
They become cynical and calloused by the dismissed cases...the long hours...the little thanks...and the continuous stench of evil.
And if these men and women don't release that anger to the Lord and allow Him to come in with a refreshing, life-giving cleansing, then the hatred can and will boil up within them as well.
The truth of the matter is that we all struggle.
Every one of us face those moments when we become angry and hate-filled towards another.
For most, we do not act out on it or react in a violent way. Yet we do feel our blood begin to rise, our teeth clinch, and we allow that seed of bitterness to sprout in our heart.
So what's the answer to all the hate towards cops? All the hatred period?
The answer is a heart change. Every one of us need to experience an overhaul of our will and emotion--every single day. We need Jesus to step in and take control; rewiring our way of thoughts and reactions.
I want to leave you with a little something to chew on. Below is the testimony of a cop recently murdered in Milwaukee.
Take a moment to listen to it. Listen to how he describes his angry heart before Jesus, but his renewed heart after surrendering to his Savior.
Thank God for the power to change a sinful heart like mine...like yours...like this officer's.
May we lay down our anger and hatred, and instead, pick up God's love.
"(Officer's name) is very, very grave."
It was earlier in the day that the officer was shot as he and others responded to a shots fired call, and in the process, he took a round to the head.
Just like that another life was nearly snuffed out.
Just like that another department was potentially facing a loss--another family receiving the call to hurry to their loved one's bedside.
14 men/4 K-9's lost in July/August. I just couldn't take the news of yet another.
I climbed up on the bed and my husband and I bowed our heads as we held hands.
"Father, we come to you and ask for a miracle. We know that you are the Great Physician and Healer, and we ask that you invade that hospital room with your holy angels and breathe life back into this officer's body. Lord, we ask that the doctors and nurses will be amazed at the miracle taking place--that it will be unexplainable by mere human standards. We pray, Father, that you surround his family and co-workers with your peace and that you be glorified within this tragic situation."
After praying a few more minutes, I got up and washed my face, then fell into bed with the weight of the world on my shoulders. Why, Lord, is there so much hatred towards cops?
I wrestled with the answer. I wanted to blame someone, but all I could think of was that we live in a broken world with broken, desperate people.
Cops are daily up against those who have somehow gotten themselves into situations they know are not right, and in heated moments of desperation, do things they normally wouldn't do.
They also face those who have been so wounded by the world that they believe their life doesn't matter, nor the lives of anyone else. These people take what they can get and waste what they don't want.
The worst, however, are those who are just plain evil. These are the ones who have sold their soul to the devil and have no way of escape. They sneer at anything good and hate everyone with authority.
Each of these are the broken, the displaced, the unruly, and the outcasts. If they don't make the rules they break the rules.
For them, they hate because they have not truly experienced total love--the love of JESUS.
Oh, it may sound cliche. You might roll your eyes at that thought, but the Bible tells us that the "heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9), and it also reminds us that Jesus is the only cure.
But here's the kicker...it's not just the "bad guys" on the street. Many cops hate too.
They grow angry at the continuous disrespect and belittling. They often feel disgust at the despicable acts towards the innocent.
They become cynical and calloused by the dismissed cases...the long hours...the little thanks...and the continuous stench of evil.
And if these men and women don't release that anger to the Lord and allow Him to come in with a refreshing, life-giving cleansing, then the hatred can and will boil up within them as well.
The truth of the matter is that we all struggle.
Every one of us face those moments when we become angry and hate-filled towards another.
For most, we do not act out on it or react in a violent way. Yet we do feel our blood begin to rise, our teeth clinch, and we allow that seed of bitterness to sprout in our heart.
So what's the answer to all the hate towards cops? All the hatred period?
The answer is a heart change. Every one of us need to experience an overhaul of our will and emotion--every single day. We need Jesus to step in and take control; rewiring our way of thoughts and reactions.
I want to leave you with a little something to chew on. Below is the testimony of a cop recently murdered in Milwaukee.
Take a moment to listen to it. Listen to how he describes his angry heart before Jesus, but his renewed heart after surrendering to his Savior.
Thank God for the power to change a sinful heart like mine...like yours...like this officer's.
May we lay down our anger and hatred, and instead, pick up God's love.
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