The City of Minneapolis has had a lot of protesting and rioting after the killing of George Floyd by a police officer and there is an outcry to defund the city police force in Minneapolis. Is there a need for a police force? As of July 22nd, there have been 37 chargeable homicides in that city this year, 19 in the two months since Mr. Floyd’s death. Those were not people killed by the police, rather they were all killed by fellow citizens. In our own Birmingham, there have been 55 chargeable homicides…citizens murdered by other citizens. On top of that, according to the latest numbers available Birmingham had 4,056 violent crimes last year including murder, rape, robbery, and assault (that’s an average of over 11 violent crimes every day). So, the question I think we should be asking is “will those crimes increase or decrease if we defund the police?”. The bottom line for the purpose of a police force is to prevent crime and apprehend criminals.
In the 13th chapter of Romans Paul explains that a system of government is ordained by no less than God, Himself. He states that one of the purposes of government is to prevent and punish crime. He also says that criminals should fear the consequences of crime….as well as being guided by their conscience. As a Christian who strives to live by the Bible, I support law enforcement officers as necessary to keep order in this world. I see no other alternative.
Are there “bad” law enforcement officers? Ofcourse there are….and we should do our best to ensure that they receive punishment for wrongdoing as any other citizen would. Not everyone is cut out to do that job, but I have had the honor of knowing several law enforcement officers over the years of pastoring churches. Each and every one was kind-hearted, diligent, and truly wanted to help others by doing their job and doing it well. Theirs is a dangerous profession (as seen by the murder of one of our own, Nic O’Rear). The few un-fit officers shouldn’t reflect on the thousands of good, honest, and brave men and women who protect all of us on a regular basis. They are deserving of honor and respect. Thank God for those who serve and pray for their safety daily.
Bro. Tony
