A I’ve been a police officer a lot longer than I’ve been a
Christian- I got confirmed in rank in 2002. I got confirmed as a Christian in
2016. I had a Christian upbringing and I led what I felt was a decent life, but
I hadn’t opened the door to Jesus and I only called upon him in prayer if I was
worried about something. As an adult I never prayed to say thank you, I didn’t
go to church and I never read a bible.
Then in 2014 I went to Kenya for my 40th
birthday and took an anti-malaria tablet which went on to give me side effects
of depression and anxiety which I lived with for the best part of two years. In
all the years of policing I had never been as frightened as I was when I became
depressed. It was the unknown, a battle I didn’t know how to win. Having dealt
with many suicides in my career I began to fear if that was a path I might
travel down. When I learned the truth, that God loved me, that He had put me
here and He had a purpose for me, life became bearable, then I stopped just
existing and started living again. My days became filled with joy not despair.
I can’t thank God enough for what he has done for me. I now listen to God’s
Truth and not the enemy’s lies!
So now I am not just a police officer but also a
Christian. How does that work? Police officers, whether Christian or not, join
up because God has put into their hearts a desire to help others, to make a
difference, to put something back into their communities. So you are already
looking to follow a lot of Jesus commandments, whether you realise that fact or
not! We swear an oath when we join and many of the things we are swearing to do
are about showing integrity, according equal respect to all people, preventing
offences against people and property.
My favourite link between the bible and policing however
is the story of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37) The man who had been robbed
and left to die was a Jew, the man who stopped to help was a Samaritan. It
means nothing if you purposefully ignore a hurting soul. Love your neighbour.
Police officers mirror this man’s actions. We don’t pick and choose who we
help. We signed up to protect, to treat people with equal respect and so even
if the person in front of us has been physically or verbally abusing us only
moments before, we will help them. We put ourselves in danger, like the
Samaritan.
As a Christian in the police we can’t easily share the Gospel. Politics and religion are two areas we aren’t allowed to share opinions on. However other officers often ask me about my faith and I can then share my journey story and how God has saved me. I have a tattoo on my right forearm of Ephesians 2:8 and I wear my CPA lanyard. Both are conversation starters. We are planting the seed of the kingdom by sharing our own experiences, by living righteous lives which these people will take notice of, and God will do the rest.
From a reflection given By PC Gary Bentley at All Saints 25th October 2020
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