When I promoted into the ranks of police management, my days of enforcing the law came to a screeching halt. No more tickets to write, no more 911 calls for service to respond to and very few heart pounding, adrenaline pumping, made for TV moments. My role as a manager: Stay in the Rear with the Gear! If, by chance, I happen to find myself in the middle of some exciting police event, it's my job to avoid CHAOS (Chief Has Arrived On Scene). But sometimes things just don't happen that way.
A few weeks ago, I was out with a partner and the plan was to grab a sandwich and drive around the tourist areas of the city. We cruised along Cannery Row to check for transients bothering tourists, walked out on Fisherman's Wharf looking for violations of the no smoking ordinance, and took a drive on the beach to make sure people had their dogs on leashes. The goal: keep a low profile and give a few warnings. We ended with a check of the skateboard park and told a group a skaters that it would cost them a $100 fine if they used the park without wearing a helmet.
We climbed back in the police car and over the radio, heard detectives calling for a high risk traffic stop of a man wanted for multiple robberies. The suspect was considered armed and dangerous. It turned out we were two blocks away and in the right place to get behind the suspect's car to make the traffic stop. As my partner accelerated up the street to intercept the bad guy, my mind raced to remember the steps for making a high risk stop. I'm thinking, "Wait a minute! I am not supposed to be in the lead car on a high risk stop!"
We followed the suspect onto a highway and pulled him over. I took my position at the passenger side door as other officers arrived to assist. After everyone got in their positions, I asked for a patrol officer to switch places with me and I headed to the back what was now a long line of police vehicles. In the rear with the gear! The suspect gave up without any resistance.
We followed the suspect onto a highway and pulled him over. I took my position at the passenger side door as other officers arrived to assist. After everyone got in their positions, I asked for a patrol officer to switch places with me and I headed to the back what was now a long line of police vehicles. In the rear with the gear! The suspect gave up without any resistance.
It was great to be part of arresting a dangerous felon. It was also a bit unsettling to be the first unit to make the stop especially when I had not done that for a few years. (Ok, a lot of years.) What happened to a leisurely lunch and a some friendly warnings for minor crimes? My action days were long over, or so I thought.
The Bible is full of stories about how God called people to action and their initial response was, "Who me?" That statement was usually followed by a litany of reasons of why they couldn't possibly go where God was calling them and why it would not work. God's response, "YES YOU! NOW GO!" Here are a few examples from scripture.
In Exodus 3, God called Moses by getting his attention with a burning bush but was not consumed by the fire. God told Moses he would lead Israel out of Egypt. Moses' response, "I am nobody, how can I go to the King and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" God's response, "YES YOU! NOW GO!" (He led a nation out of bondage.)
In Judges 6, the Lord came to a man named Gideon and told him he would lead Israel against the nation of Midian. His argued that he was from the weakest clan and he was the least in his father's house. God's response, "YES YOU! NOW GO!" (He would beat the Midian army with 300 men.)
The Lord called Jonah (Chapter 1) to go to Nineveh and call the city of thousands to repentance. Jonah ran away. God's response; he sent a fish, swallowed him whole and delivered him to the shores of the city. "YES YOU! NOW GO!" (The people of Nineveh repented and come back to faith.)
I think that these guys were committed to following God. They worked hard, were good fathers and husbands, and lived a life committed to following the Commandments. They did not expect to be called to do something amazing and hesitated when God showed up. If God showed up and told you to go, how would you respond?
Our work lives can be filled with the same old thing day in and day out. We can get lost in meetings, e-mails, phone calls, projects, task lists and text messages missing out on a call to act. It might not be to lead a nation out of bondage, fight a war with a few hundred soldiers, preach repentance to a city or arrest a wanted felon; but it may very well lead to changing someone's life by offering compassion, forgiveness and grace. When prompted by God to reach out, speak out or step over a boat railing and walk on water, will you say, "Who me?" God will likely respond with, "YES YOU! NOW GO!"
Our work lives can be filled with the same old thing day in and day out. We can get lost in meetings, e-mails, phone calls, projects, task lists and text messages missing out on a call to act. It might not be to lead a nation out of bondage, fight a war with a few hundred soldiers, preach repentance to a city or arrest a wanted felon; but it may very well lead to changing someone's life by offering compassion, forgiveness and grace. When prompted by God to reach out, speak out or step over a boat railing and walk on water, will you say, "Who me?" God will likely respond with, "YES YOU! NOW GO!"
