There is legislation in Kentucky being proposed that would make it a crime to insult police officers or taunt a police officer to the point that it would provoke a violent response [1] but as well-intended as this legislation might be, it's passage will no doubt lead to dire consequences for accountability and freedom of speech by emboldening corrupt members within the office of law enforcement. Under this kind of legislation, even rebuking or criticizing a police officer for bad behavior, procedural, and Constitutional violations can become a crime and thus lead to a corruption and abuse of the office such as never before seen.
Make no mistake; the office of law enforcement needs to be respected, and those serving within need to be treated with the honor due them but the solution is not going to be found in a piece of legislation that, all the while may solve some problems, will no doubt create other problems that will be worse than the problems that it promises to resolve.
The office of law enforcement and
governing powers were established for the purpose of maintaining order in
society and to keep otherwise unrestrained evil in check (Rom. 13:1-7)
but no governing power is immune from
straying from that intended purpose because the members of any governing body
or arm thereof can be every bit as evil and wicked as those over whom they bear
rule which is why you really cannot enforce respect for authority with a piece
of legislation no matter how well-intended it may be and besides, not every
member of law enforcement and not every governing official is worthy of the
honor and respect that they are otherwise would be due to their failure to
carry out the duties of their office that they were either elected, hired, or
appointed to carry out and to maintain public confidence and what is dangerous
about this type of legislation is that if passed, the corrupt and evil members
within law enforcement may think that they can get away with anything without
fear of reprisal which will likely produce a lack of public trust in the
police.
Before anyone can be made to give proper respect and honor to earthly governing institutions, they must first learn to fear and give reverence and honor to the authority that is greater than that of any man, and by whom right and wrong, good and evil, light and darkness, sin and purity, the sacred and profane, truth and falsehood are defined for it is upon the laws and precepts of that supreme authority that all governing institutions find their basis and without whom they receive no power.
The God who made the universe and all that is therein did not create it with death, decay, suffering, grief, or pain of any sort, but all things were created to live peaceably and all creatures in harmony with one another and mankind was made to live in perfect unity with His Maker in all things.
Man was given charge and dominion over the entire earth and all things were given into his hand but there was only one thing that was forbidden him and that was a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17) being warned that in the day that he should eat thereof, he would surely die (Gen. 2:16-17, chapter 3) but at the behest of a wicked spirit having set itself at enmity with God, mankind disobeyed his Maker and ate of that forbidden fruit.
It was then at that point he was sentenced to death, having been cut off from that which would have enabled him to live forever, (Gen. 3:22) and it was in that day that sin had entered into the man who disobeyed and from him sin was passed down to all of mankind because we are all descended from that first man who is called Adam and his wife who is called Eve and as a result, we all sin and therefore we all die as a consequence. (Rom. 5:12, 6:23)
Sin produces in each of us that which is contrary to the desire of our Maker and His intended design and therefore causes us to by nature do the things that are not pleasing in His eyes. It not only influences our actions, priorities, and the words that come forth from our mouth, but also our very thoughts and intents of our hearts.
It is from our Creator that we have instilled in ourselves the ability to know right from wrong and it is from Him that we receive the proper laws and precepts by which our lives can be best governed and by which order is best maintained and though the law that comes from Him is profitable for these things, we still find it impossible to keep His laws because of sin being present within us. For every attempt made at keeping the law of God, we still fall short because of sin within us. For every kind word we may say to one person comes a cruel and careless word to another. For every good act done comes an evil thought or a corrupt motive and therefore we are unable to do by our own efforts that which is required of us which is to attain a state of moral perfection (Rom. 3:23)
And because we are unable to attain perfection due to sin, we remain estranged from our Maker because God, who is pure, cannot have fellowship with that which is sin nor can He allow that which is sinful to dwell in His Kingdom or direct presence where there is no sin.
Sin affects more than we can comprehend. It influences our behavior, actions, our speech, corrupts our thoughts, and twists our motives but not only have the consequences of sin affect mankind, but because of sin, all of creation itself is under a curse (Rom. 8:19-22) which is why we see and experience the pain, suffering, hardship, grief, misery, decay, death, and evil that is presently in our world and it is because of all these things that sin must eventually face punishment and why everyone who dies in their sin will never be permitted into the sinless Kingdom of God but instead will face eternal separation from their Maker and be subject to a never-ending punishment in everlasting darkness; there is no worse fate that anyone can face than an eternity in Hell. No depiction thereof can ever compare to unimaginable suffering and torment there.
But God, in His love for man, and in His desire to show mercy instead of wrath, has done for man what man could not do for himself. Sin has made it impossible for any to be reconciled to their Maker and gain entry into His Kingdom by their own merit which is why it is only by the goodness and grace of God that any are granted entry into Heaven and reconciled to their Maker.
The goodness of God demands that a
penalty be carried out for sin, but it is also His goodness by which redemption
is provided for man in that God sent His only begotten Son Jesus, to die on the
cross for our sins and to be raised from the dead afterward so that any placing
their trust in Him alone for their salvation will not have to face eternal damnation
but receive salvation and eternal life.
And with the redemption of the soul comes restored fellowship with the Maker and in us instilled a nature not present in us before; a desire to please and honor God in everything that we do out of gratitude for the grace that we have received and for the gift of salvation that we have been given and out of love for the Savior in whom redemption is found.
It is only for the sake of Christ do we then submit ourselves to those governing authorities that have been set over us to keep evil in check and to maintain needed order and safety in our world and respective nations, communities, and societies and it is only those established laws and decrees that do not run contrary to the good and perfect law of the God who made and redeemed us that we are expected to obey.
A transformation of the soul that is only possible with the redeeming power of Jesus Christ is what will ever cause anyone to treat our law enforcement officials, police, and governing authorities with the honor and respect due to them and it is only this transformation that will ever cause those given power over us to rule justly, to establish laws and decrees that serve the public interest, to praise those works that are good while punishing evil deeds.
But apart from Christ, there can be no hope of attaining the just government we desire in whom resides the fear of God and the powers that be can have no hope of ruling over a people willing to give them the respect and honor due them unless the fear of God resides in the people for it is from a people who fear and reverence the Lord as King over their lives that a government in whom dwells righteousness and justice is produced and which will receive the honor and respect that is due unto it.
But the day is coming when the God by whom a perfect and incorruptible government will be established will vanquish all evil that is in the earth and replace that which is corruptible with the incorruptible and it is with Him that they who submit themselves to Him will dwell and who will give Him the due reverence that all of mankind is called upon to give because the world that He will establish will not be like the world we presently dwell into day, but instead will be a new and better world wherein in that day will exist no sin, no death, nor any curse, decay, grief, misery, or pain of any sort and where every tear will be wiped away (Rev. 21-22) because this present world with all its evil and darkness will be done away with (2 Pet. 3:10) and before even that day, just as the soul is made spotless by the blood of Christ and redeemed from what would otherwise be an immensely dreadful judgment, so our bodies also will eventually be changed from that which is corrupted to that which is incorruptible and no longer subjected to death (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) thus making us fit to dwell in the world to come.
But today, if any reading this have not yet placed your trust in the Christ who is able to redeem all who call upon His name, I urge you to do so today so that you will not be carried away in the judgment that is to come but so that you might escape the wrath to come and come it will, but at present, it is being withheld because God is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) and escape the unimaginable punishment to come.
Place not your hope in this present world nor in the things of this world, but instead look to the world to come. Do not place your trust in corruptible men but instead place your trust in the corruptible God. Do not place your faith in the institution and establishments of men that cannot keep themselves from evil, but place your faith in the sinless Christ who gave Himself for the sinner and by whose blood our souls are cleansed and who will one day liberate our bodies from death and decay, and the creation from the cursed that came because of sin. Do not hang your confidence on the vain and faulty philosophies and opinions of men regardless of their status, occupation, credentials, and expertise, but instead place your confidence in the instruction of the God who made you which He has delivered to us in His divinely inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16) which is without fault and does not lead astray. And do not pin all your hopes in the promises of men that may or may not be kept, but place your hopes in the unfailing promises of the God who will bring us to a world better than the world in which we presently live.
And do not even trust in your own efforts to attain a good afterlife because they will fall short, but instead place all your trust for redemption in what Christ has done on your behalf. If you wish to ask Jesus into your heart this day, to make Him your Savior and Lord, and to turn away from your sins so that you may be saved from eternal damnation and begin anew and transformed life in Him, but are not sure what to pray, here is an example of what to pray:
"Lord Jesus I need you.
Amen."
Scripture
references:
1. Romans 13:1-7
2. Genesis 2:16-17
3. Genesis 3
4. Genesis 3:22
12. 2 Peter 3:9
13. 2 Timothy 3:16
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