Walking the beat

A long time ago, the police were a preventative service.  That is, they weren't what we have now, which is a force that reacts to crimes that have been committed.  A long time ago, you would find a lot more of police patrolling on foot, walking through neighborhoods, and dealing with the people who were living and working in that area.   What that would do, is that it would create a relationship with the people beyond just the idea that the police would only show up if there had been an offense already committed.

I've often thought about what things would be like if police continued to walk the beat in places like this.  What things would be like if you had a cordial, even collegial relationship with the police - where you understood far more of what was intended from the beginning of their formation by Robert Peel. That they were intended to be public servants.  And the most important thing that you can do as a constable would be to prevent crimes from happening in the first place, not just responding to crimes that have been committed already.

But that's not happening now.  What is happening now is that if you see the red and blue lights of the police behind you on the motorway, you tend to have a sense of dread in your chest, as you assume, probably correctly, that the best case scenario is that you will be ignored.  Maybe they're after someone else.  You know for sure that if they do, in fact, want to talk to you, it will be discussing an infraction that you have committed.  They aren't there to discuss pleasantries, nor to congratulate you for your safe driving.  Rather, they're there only to enforce laws that have been broken.  And they don't bear the sword for nothing.  My desire for a more cordial relationship with the police is based on my desire for a more cordial relationship with everyone.  You never want a relationship with someone where your only reward is not being punished.

But what you will find, largely, is that the majority of interactions you have with people will be that your only reward is not being punished.  The only positivity is a lack of negativity.  I'm convinced that this is a cause of things like marital breakdown, and the like, that the only interactions you have with a spouse, or with a relative, with a boss or a customer, will only be negative.  The positive reactions simply don't exist, and your only reward is not being punished.  And that's the source of the 'footprints' poem.  I know you all know it, but in case you don't, here it is.

Now, you all know this poem, and what it's about.  But the nugget at the heart of it is that where there is only one set of footprints, that's where you walk alone.  In other words, when things are bad, you get no help.  You have God strolling along with you when things are fine, but when they are hard, he's nowhere to be found.  And more and more people truly and genuinely do see things that way, seeing things from the perspective of only asking where God is when things are bad, when they're hard or difficult.  They don't think too much about where he is when things are going fine, during those times they're happy to forget about him.  But when things are bad and hard, they curse his holy name.

For us as Christians, we need to be the hands and feet of God in the world, and that is going to involve doing more than just correcting and scolding out of nowhere and having no other interactions with people.  If we only do that, people will spurn and reject our message, in the same way as we would if we believed that God only had negative interactions with us as well. If the only reward we had ever received from God was not being punished, then we would be angry with him with every interaction we have with him.  Just like we do with the police, revenue Canada, or anything like that.  It's perpetual.  If there is someone we only have either negative or neutral interactions with, we won't care for any of the interactions we have with them.

So then our job, if we are to go into the world and call sin what it is, if we are going to discern wisely and call people to repentance as we should, we are going to have to do more than just have negative interactions with them.  We're going to have to bear their burdens, and in so doing fulfill the law of Christ.  That's hard to do, of course.  it's no fun to do that.  It's all the harder when you consider how difficult it is for you to just bear your own burdens, to carry your own load.  When you think about how difficult it is to carry yourself towards the finish line, then you become much more reluctant to carry the burdens of someone else.  What can possibly help?

If you take Dr. Martin Luther seriously, as you ought to do, then you'll pay attention to the section at the end of the small catechism that talks about the daily prayers. The daily prayers that Martin Luther has in mind for you to engage in are there for your benefit, in order that you may be always mindful of what God daily and richly blesses you with.  If you go to the section on the Lord's Prayer, especially the part about daily bread, where every time you pray the Lord's Prayer (which Martin Luther recommends you do 8 times a day), you will be reminded of how much God gives you every day.  House and home, clothing and shoes, spouse and children, all that.  And what that does is to remind you that your only interactions with God aren't scolding and brimstone, he blesses you every day, gives you everything you need for body and soul, and wins your soul for everlasting life.  If you believe that, then you will be far more able to bear the burdens of others.  It all starts with being mindful of how much you have been given, and only then can you begin to bless others.  Any other way, and you will try to bear the burdens of others with bitterness and resentment, as you feel you are carrying your own load yourself.  But with Christ, because of what he has already granted you, you are free to bear the burdens of others.