Kristi is frustrated at all she's been hearing. Her husband is a cop and she wanted to offer a counter perspective to this incident (I like counter perspectives;)) Recently she's heard a lot of cop bashing banter. She wants us to put ourselves in the officers shoes that work long hours protecting people who desire to sometimes abuse the very officers that want to serve and protect. She continued to number the many cops that have lost their lives in the line of duty (may God bless their service and their families). She then goes on to accuse the media of cop bashing. Kristi goes on to talk about the spouses of the cops and all they endure. She finally gets to the spiritual aspect of the writing where she addresses sin.
"There is no such thing as a black or white issue,
male or female issue, rich or poor issue, what it
reveals is the condition of the heart."
Kristi continues to talk about how she will encourage officers. She thanks those that respect them, asks God to help those that lash out at officers over media outlets. Admonishes the politicians who decide to weigh in on situations like these, and encourages the media to find some integrity.
This is my letter to Kristi:
As the wife of a fireman, who also puts his life on the line every day he's on duty, thank you for your husband's service and your's as well as a wife. The ultimate tragedy in the Ferguson case was that a young man's life was lost. I cannot argue "facts" as I do not know the "facts". None of us really can know, as we live in a media age where "newsworthy" (i.e. ratings booster) stories are spun like a child's top.
What I can say is, historically there has been in this country, a system that has unfairly treated minority communities and its residents as "less than". My black fire fighting husband has been treated on numerous occasions as "less than" by law enforcement officers. I, a person of mixed race, with all my professional accolades and college degree has been treated as "less than" by law enforcement officers. This very well documented improper treatment of minorities is a shameful blemish on this country's Constitution and laws which purport to defend the rights of every human being who dwells in the U.S. via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and many other legal statutes that exists to protect us from this type of behavior.
As a fellow believer, it is our duty as followers of Christ, not only to pray, fast, and lament for injustices (be they perceived by us as embellishments or actual, right in our own backyards or in a distant suburb like Ferguson, Missouri) but to take action when necessary (Micah 6:8). There are thousands of American believers, men women and children, who sacrificed things like their dignity, personal safety, and sometimes their precious lives so that each and every once of us (regardless of color) could be ensured a more concrete explanation of our God given rights and have those rights enforced to the fullest extent of the law. They too have been "spit on, flipped off, cursed out, beaten, shot at, run over and belittled" all in the name of justice. Kristi, the problem is not your husband, but the established and flawed governing system that came before he ever pinned an officer's badge on the lapel of his uniform.
Regarding your husband's job, the things you mentioned (long work hours, missed family time, and the abusive behavior of the general public), be they hazardous, are the occupational norms of his job. My husband deals with being pooped, peed, bled, vomited on (exposing him to all kinds of diseases and infections), possibly being asphyxiated due to insufficient air, trapped in a burning building, and potentially being burnt to a crisp. BUT he chose this line of work as his profession. The perils of the job are his occupational norm. Now, this doesn't alleviate the potential stress on my end because of his job but I did have the chance, because we were already married, to speak into and discuss his decision to become a fireman. Ultimately, his career was a choice we both agreed upon.
Micah 6:8 states "And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Where was the justice in Ferguson? Where was mercy for Michael Brown's life? Where was the humility of the law enforcement community in the wake of the residents of Ferguson being stricken, appalled, and deeply wounded by the preceding events? These are questions I'm asking myself and praying about as I continue to process through this incident; an incident that sadly sounded very familiar to ones I've heard the length of my life as a brown person.
You are right Kristi, it does indeed boil down to sin but sin revels in dwelling and wreaking havoc in places like race, gender, and socio-economic differences; places that God intended for our differences to compliment each other. But sin swept in after the fall of Adam and Eve and continually attempts to usurp God's goodness. Sin is not blind. And neither are we. I pray that justice prevails. I have hope that God will right whatever went so horribly wrong the day that Michael Brown's life was taken away. I pray my Father's will be done and no one else's.
Fiery Wife
Sunday Brunch happens every Sunday as a spiritual encouragement for readers of the Fiery Wife blog. Come back next week and see what God is serving up for you to eat. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! (Ps. 34:8)"
