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I Need Your Help

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Decky:
Thank you all for your input. I gather that this is one of those things that I'm being anxious about, and we are admonished to be anxious for nothing. So I'm going to try not to worry about it. But I have decided to apply for the fire department.

Ninny:
Decky, Whether you choose to be a policeman or a firefighter either is a noble profession if God leads you there.
Kathy :)

Heidi:
Decky....I pray that God will grant you wisdom and that you will be able to hear His voice as He leads you in your walk....remember, a walk that has been preordained and purposed.....have Peace in your heart.....He is in control and only He can lead you as to your next move.

cjwood:
hi decky,
after reading through the replies to your original post i can only add that i believe it is God who caused you to question your job as a policeman in the first place. He knows everything about us and even knows the words we will say before we say them, and He knows the thoughts we will think before we think them because He has preordained our steps on the path He has chosed for us. i loved your response to your post replies where you said that you have applied for the fire department. i will say a special prayer for you in that endeavor.

claudia

indianabob:
New Friend Decky,

There is not much more I can add to the comprehensive advice already given, but I can share a little history.

I was a police officer in the 1960's, married with a growing family in a small town 8,000 pop. in Lake County, Indiana.  I had come to believe that God had a place for me in His Kingdom and like you I had reservations about being willing to exercise deadly force in my job.  I even thought about going to work with an empty weapon so I wouldn't be tempted in moments of stress to over react.  Of course that idea had to be scrapped because I had a sworn duty to protect the public and an equal concern that I would not be able to support fellow officers in a fire fight.

At present, 40 years later, I still have reservations about using lethal force in self defense, partly because I believe that most innocent civilians, especially believers like us, could do more to avoid trouble if they worked on it.  God is able to protect us, but we don't have His promise when we regularly take foolish chances or tempt Him.

The decision to continue as an officer with the discression and authority to use deadly force is a large responsibility and based upon what you have already written I sense some reluctance to put your family in the position from this point forward, of having to live with the criticism that may come your way if you have to kill someone in the line of duty.  I believe that it is different when we are soldiers.  The subject we shoot is a stranger and not known in our home town. That doesn't even include the psychological trauma that may be ours to live with.  People are strange and even today they seem to expect police officers to shoot the gun out of the felons hand rather that to aim for the body's center of mass for a quick, positive take down.

On the other hand, Fire Fighters seem to generally have a higher approval rating and although it may be even more dangerous than police patrol officer, one of the fringe benefits could be more time with the family depending upon the work schedule.

After leaving the force I found that my wife felt better about her future and that I would be around to help raise our four children with school events and sports etc.

The last point is how long you should take to decide and find another job.
If you believe that God is calling you to lay down your badge and if you are required to take a life in the near future, how will God feel about you?  Is forgiveness available in the same way that it would be if you just quit and obeyed your conscience as soon as possible? 

Are you putting off doing the "right" thing with the hopes that you won't need to shoot anyone in the mean time?  These are things that bothered me all those years ago and I took a chance and fortunately was able to begin my new job before I had to face that choice.

Now my understanding is, that God is VERY patient and does fully understand what you are going through and that forgiveness is always available even though we are often slow to act when our conscience leads us to take action.

What ever your decision is, put your future and your faith in God's capable hands and trust Him to guide your path.  Pray without ceasing . . .

Thanks for the good question and welcome to the forum,
Warm regards, Indiana Bob

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