RED TAGGED!

Building inspectors get a bad rap. Where a cop can take away an individual’s freedom, a building inspector can halt a construction project in its tracks. It has never occurred to me to tell a driver during a traffic stop, “Sir, your driving was not up to code.” If the purpose of traffic enforcement is to reduce traffic collisions, then the purpose of a building inspection is to keep structures standing during catastrophes. If you watch news coverage of disasters where safe building standards are non-existent; you can see the consequences. 

Here is a spin on Romans 13: “Let everyone be subject to the Building Inspectors, for there is no Building authority except that which God has established. Building Inspectors that exist have been established by God…For Building Inspectors hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then build according to code and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for Building Inspectors do not bear the Red Tag for no reason.”

God himself issued the first Red Tag in Genesis 11. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Noah shared a common language and speech. They traveled together and set up house on the Plain of Shinar. Someone figured out that bricks were easier to produce then finding and digging up rocks as building materials. Standards fell and tar replaced more stable forms of mortar. Then the pride of ownership got the best of them. Genesis 11:4 “They said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’”

God delights in the humility of man but opposes the proud. These people did not get it. In fact, they wanted to make a name for themselves and they were willing to take short cuts to do it. Apparently resting on the name of God was not enough. Scripture says that God “came down” to see the city and the tower. He saw that they were, once again, on a path to destruction. He Red Tagged the tower and the city buildings by confusing their language causing them to scatter all over the earth. 

Have you ever experienced a time where there was confusion of purpose? A meeting where people were not getting it and frustration follows? It happens at church, at family gatherings or in the workplace. Things just don't click; decisions are difficult to make and there is no consensus in the group. Sometimes we allow our personal agendas to get in the way of the good that God wants for us. We might be well intentioned but our decision making leads us down the wrong road. Proverbs 19:21 says this, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

Here is where I believe God comes alongside. He gives us peers, mentors and pastors to guide us in our churches, our families and at work. He gave us the Holy Bible as a blueprint to know and understand His purposes. He inspects and tests our work, sometimes by fire (literally and through the trials of life) to bring us back to our calling as sons and daughters of Christ. Even the Apostle Paul got a few Red Tags on his missionary journeys: “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia,having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” (Acts 16:6-7)

Where is God telling you to scrap a project, stay status quo or rethink your plans? When our foundation is built on sand, bad things happen when storms blow through. God speaks to us through scripture, friends, and sermons. If you don’t listen, He gets a little louder. Perhaps it is through a poor performance evaluation at work or a marriage counselor telling you to listen to your spouse. If you continue to resist, He will Red Tag you! Better to inspect your own buildings and consider your ways before God has to do it for you!

Remember, Honor and Support

Today marks the anniversary of the 9-11 Attacks. I offer this reflection in honor of the lives lost on this day and to the men and women who gave their lives to protect ours in the days and years that followed; both here at home and overseas.

Consider this passage from the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 4, Verses 18-22, The Calling of the First Disciples:

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him."

As I think about the call if these men, it occurs to me that although Peter, Andrew, James and John immediately left to go with Jesus, they did not do so simply because a man they had never met walked up to them and said “Follow me.” These were men of faith who had read scripture and were watching for the opportunity to serve.

The call to become a peace officer is not made in a moment, in response to a job flyer or from watching commercial on television. It is a process that begins with a heart to serve others. The call means making a commitment of time, effort and sacrifice. We endure the testing process and background examinations, police academies and Field Training Officers.

We commit to work weekends, holidays and shifts. We stand at an intersection in the freezing rain with a flare pattern and our patrol car blocking a roadway with all the lights on and still have the patience to answer the question, “Is this road closed?”

We commit to stand firm in the face of every profanity and stop fighting when the other guy quits even if he got in more shots in than us. We commit to put our own life at risk to save another human being no matter who they are.

We also accept that what we do means that we may be called to lose our lives so that others will be safe. And it is not a decision we make for our selves but a sacrifice that our families live with as well.

For the men and women we remember today, it means their wives, husbands, children, parents, brothers and sisters will not see them again in this world. The men and women that served with them will carry the pain of the loss of a friend and a partner. Those that follow behind now live to honor a fellow peace officer who died in the line of duty.

The Book of Romans, Chapter 13, Verse 4 says of those that are called to keep the peace:

“For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

Our call to police service means that we commit to protect the weak and hold evil at bay. We do this with the sword.

This is why our call is for very few. We must decide and act in a moment. We must understand the seriousness of our mission and what lies in the balance. We are fair yet firm, strong yet compassionate, we are brave in the face of danger when others will freeze or run away. We do this knowing that the cost might be our own lives for the benefit of our fellow man.

The Gospel of John Chapter 15:9-19 says this,

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

On September 26, 1929, two men entered a Rodeo bank near the Town of Pinole, armed with guns. They intended to rob the $27,000 payroll delivered that morning. Constable Arthur Mac Donald was also in the bank and confronted the robbers. A gun battle erupted. Although he managed to shoot one of the suspects, a third man driving a get away car fired into the bank from outside. Constable MacDonald was shot and mortally wounded. He was taken to the hospital in an attempt to save his life.

Although his wife managed to get to the hospital before he died, she was not allowed to be with her husband even though he called to her from the treatment room.

Constable Arthur Mac Donald was my great-grandfather. My grandmother received a telegram in New York at 5:40PM that evening that read,

“YOUR FATHER KILLED THIS MORNING HOLD UP RODEO BANK”

My grandmother told me that my great-grand father was a committed father and husband. A great aunt told me that she was proud that I followed in his footsteps. He served as a constable for 11 years. A man later told reporters that, “Jerry was a great man and popular, but if you got out of line he’d kick you in the butt and tell you to get off the street and go home. And you would do it too.”

If it was only still that easy.

When a member of our profession is killed in the line of duty, it has a profound impact on us as we live our lives by honoring their memory through our service in law enforcement. The impact becomes even more significant when we knew that the person behind the badge and realize they were committed to family, to the community and to their faith.

May God bless those that serve and the families support them. May God comfort those left behind.