Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Psalm 37:30-31, “The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip.”
The common bond of Christianity brings people together in ways that are not always expected. Christian fellowship can lead to moments of accountability and it happened to me in the middle of a strike. The encounter was one moment in my career as a police officer where I faced the real possibility of getting hurt standing up to a giant.
James was a mountain of a man. He stood at least 6’4” and was a solid 300 pounds. He was built like a football lineman. We were members of the same church and every week, James would stand at the top of the steps that led from the parking lot to the sanctuary. He greeted everyone with a handshake and a hug. His handshake was firm and powerful. You could feel his strength in his embrace. There are very few people that I felt physically intimidated by. James was one of them. James worked for the Teamsters.
We both served as elders together at our church. I was a Police Lieutenant. Labor versus management, but connected by faith in Christ. We knew each other well and I considered him a friend. One Sunday morning, James told me he would be up in Santa Barbara striking at a local lumber yard. I decided I would not be going to visit him since; after all, it was a labor dispute. That all changed on the second day of the protest.
At the time, I was the Public Information Officer at the Police Department. Each morning, I would read through all the police reports to determine what might be newsworthy or significant that the Police Chief should know about. On Tuesday, as I thumbed through the reports, I found an arrest report that listed James as a suspect. He was placed under a citizen’s arrest for challenging to fight. I was really irritated that a fellow believer would engage in ways that did not honor God. I was wearing a coat and tie and decided to drive to the protest to see if James was still behaving badly.
I arrived at the site and parked my car down the block from the protest. The dispute was directed at lumber company that was non-union. I walked up the sidewalk and standing on the other side of the driveway to the business was James with three or four fellow strikers. James was the leader of the protest. He saw me and made a big deal about knowing who I was. Employees of the lumber company stood nearby listening to our conversation. After a few minutes, I walked over to a lumber company manager and asked him how things were going. He said it was all fine with the exception of the “big guy” who would yell and swear at drivers leaving the yard. He pointed at James.
Things got quiet and I decided it was time to leave. I looked at the manager and told him, “If James gets out of hand again, remind him that he is an elder at his church.” What happened next surprised even me.
James’ fellow protesters began laughing and sang out, “Elder James, Elder James!” James was dumbfounded. I could see anger flash in his eyes and, without warning; he threw his picket sign to the ground and charged me at full sprint. I had nowhere to go. There was nothing I could do. At that moment, I was not afraid. I stood still and waited to be hit by a 300 pound monster. James grabbed me in a bear hug and carried me back ten feet before setting me back on the ground. He looked me straight the face and said, “Do you know what you just did to me?”
I looked back at him and said, “Yeah James, I just held you accountable.”
He paused for a moment, let me go and walked back to his group. We did not have any more problems for the rest of the protest.
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