Sinful Partiality Strikes Again...

Welp, here we are again.  

Another video snippet.  All the public scrutiny.  Aimed at law enforcement on all levels.  

And the logical implications therein insinuated that incriminate all officers for finding themselves in a life-or-death situation and facing the dreaded decision of who comes home to their family that day.  And who doesn’t.  

As the wife of an officer who has found himself in some hard situations, few things are as frustrating as seeing people cast judgment on such complex situations with a lack of the complete facts, usually from a brief few-seconds-long snippet of a situation.  

I assure you these are never situations he wants to be found in or that I want him to find himself in.  Yet if not him, then who?  Cops are those who hold the line between order and chaos.  They are those who will deal with the criminal element so you don’t have to.  

And yet, this is often the “thanks” they get.  The toughest of scrutiny.  Their every movement in those intense life-or-death moments being hyper-analyzed under a magnifying glass from the citizenry they serve, who have never had to come face-to-face with that side of society largely in thanks to the very law enforcement officers showing up on those scenes and holding that line, sometimes at an immense cost.

This certainly isn’t to say there shouldn’t be scrutiny.  Law enforcement officers should not be above the law.  But they, too, are prone to that human problem of fallenness, just like the rest of us. Does that mean they should be held to an unattainable standard of perfection?  We would do well to remember the principle found in John 8...may the one who is without fault be the first to cast the stone.  

In that case, who even qualifies to step to the front of the line?  I certainly don’t.  

My family has been through a lot of stress, much of it rather unforeseen and calamitous.  I’d like to think I handle myself pretty well under pressure.  But I definitely don’t do it perfectly…far from it! There are times that I buckle.  My knees knock.  The tears flow.  My hands shake and I can’t think straight.  Other areas of my life start to suffer from the strain.  I may even lose my temper from time to time.  And these symptoms of mine are (typically) onset by the stress of a situation that pales sharply in contrast to what officers are out there dealing with.  

(Usually) not life-or-death.  

(Often) not instantaneous in nature.  

But, more often than not, still enough to put me over the edge of my very human limitations.  

Surely I speak not only for myself on this front.  If we’re all totally honest, we all fall short, sometimes extremely so, especially in intense moments.  

Yet time and again, when I see officers operating under such intense circumstances, I see pretty immense strength under pressure.  When I look at those video snippets, I often see officers who are holding it together far better than I could ever hope to do.  Maybe they don’t do it perfectly.  Maybe I think I would do it differently.  But they’re the ones that are out there in the thick of it.  And we’re just the ones on the opposite side of a phone screen somewhere, picking apart each and every frame from the latest law-enforcement involved viral video, acting as if we have a lot to offer.  

Spoiler alert…we don’t.

Our opinions literally carry no weight in the grand scheme of things.  Or at least, they oughtn’t.

Sure, it’s easy to think that they do.  It is so easy to believe that everything is as simple and straight forward as it initially seems to be.  But then more camera angles come out and more facts are forthcoming, and as is always the case, the circumstances surrounding these situations are always more convoluted than initially thought.  It’s rarely clean.  It’s rarely clear-cut.  

But that fact doesn’t vibe well with the cultural rage machine that feels like they can make fully-informed judgements on a few-second situation that lacks context.  It lacks clarity.  And it usually lacks anything resembling expertise or sound reasoning.  

However, I do know this.  As someone who loves someone who dons the uniform and badge, the fact that he does so makes his life worth no less.  It doesn’t mean that he is worthy of being run over.  Nor does it mean that he doesn’t get to defend himself should someone attempt to do so, no matter their motives in that moment.  But that’s precisely what I hear from the Monday-morning quarterback crowd regarding this latest incident.  

Because for some reason, it was wrong for this agent to shoot (and kill) this woman who was driving her car into him.  Somehow what once was declared by our founding fathers to be a self-evident truth has now turned into a topic for debate, depending on who has laid a claim to that Creator-endowed right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Apparently to some, that right applies to those who aren’t out protecting the public (but who have a tendency to antagonize the ones who do); on the other hand, those officers who have to confront them ought not get those same rights.  In their minds, it only applies to one side of the political aisle, but not the other.  That’s precisely what is meant when so many people declare “he had no right” to defend himself against someone who, by all appearances, had every intention of depriving him of that right.  

Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?  

Rules for thee, but not for me.

I can use a car (or whatever random item I want to) as a weapon in a way that could cause someone (in this case, an officer) great bodily harm, even death.  But you’d better not do a thing about it but stand back and take it.  Because this is a free country and this is my liberty you’re encroaching on.  You may not realize this, but the right to life is first in the list.  And for good reason.  Your liberties end where impeding someone’s right to life begins.  

If you think otherwise, you’ve fallen victim to the societal polarization that runs so rampant.  The biblical principle for this is “sinful partiality” and Scripture doesn’t mince words.  

“You shall not pervert justice.  You shall not show partiality…

Justice, and only justice, you shall follow.” 

Deuteronomy 16:19-20

True justice does not have perverse or political or even personal motives.  It doesn’t deprive someone of their God-given rights so someone else can be at liberty to do them great wrong or harm.  Only God’s justice is pure and perfect, but at the very least, we can strive in our earthly systems for the impartial kind He prescribes.  His justice is the standard and the only one worthy of pursuing.  Even if we never see perfect justice here on earth, we can trust that His perfect justice will reign supreme someday.  There won’t be riots and social media spewing to skew things or deprive someone of their right to a fair trial.  The truth will come out.  He will sovereignly reign and His standard will not be disputed.

“You shall not spread a false report.  You shall not join hands

with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.  You shall not fall in

with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit,

siding with the many, so as to pervert justice.” 

Exodus 23:1-2

When we spread speculation or join the social masses in skewing facts on a situation based on a few seconds (or even a few minutes) snippet, we are essentially joining hands to become malicious witnesses.  We have fallen in with the many to do evil, in order to pervert justice.  If this was not the case, why would there be the question in so many of these high profile police cases of whether a “fair” trial was even feasible?  Last I checked, that was a right bestowed upon U.S. citizens in the 8th Amendment of the Bill of Rights.  Yet, even when a court has managed to “clear” a cop of guilt from charges in these cases, the situation is often so volatile that the officer and their family may have to go into hiding because public opinion has placed a target upon them.  

If social justice seeks to do whatever it takes to fulfill their narrative of the guilt of particular people groups (in these cases, the police), is that not the epitome of sinful partiality?  The entire concept of “innocent until proven guilty” seems to be a social atrocity to this movement.  “Guilty because we will bring the public to such a boiling point that those in the courtroom feel they have to capitulate to mob justice” is a more accurate description.  And if they can’t succeed in prosecuting a person to their desired end regardless of the facts, they will persecute them, their families, and all involved that they feel didn’t sufficiently surrender to their social cause.  

This doesn’t end with just the punishment of those actually involved with the case, but often extends to others who aren’t involved.  Oh, you also don a badge?  How can we bring our perverse sense of justice down on your head too?  

There is a reason attacks on law enforcement spike following these types of tense situations.  Following the infamous George Floyd riots of 2020, dozens of people were killed in the violent riots.  In 2019, assaults on officers numbered 4,071, but 2020 ended with 60,105 reported assaults.  (Source)  This is the sinful partiality of social “justice” in action.  

If you’ve not heard of it, there is actually a name for the vicious tailspin these types of unrest put society in.  It’s called the Ferguson Effect, and I would encourage you to educate yourself about it.  It refers to the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri…a case, I might add, in which multiple investigations cleared the cop of wrongdoing.  The evidence clearly showed that despite the tragic outcome of the scenario, the officer’s response was reasonable considering the circumstances.  But very early on, lies and misinformation were spread, and this led to increased scrutiny on officers, which in turn caused them to step back from proactive policing out of fear that their actions could be misconstrued and they’d be paying for that split second decision for the rest of their life, even if the evidence found them to be not guilty.  This caused a spike in crime, which often impacts the most vulnerable areas of our society.  

The social justice movement slogan of “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” actually originated in that case, with a lie told by a spectator to a press member at the scene.  This lie has been and still is pervasively misshaping the narrative surrounding that case and has become one of the many mantras of a rather misled movement.  

Lies do that.  It’s much easier to get people to read an attention-grabbing headline than to acknowledge the fine print retraction the press puts out, which many people will never even see, much less accept as reality.  (That's if they even acknowledge their error at all.) And so the divisive narrative is fed.  And the cultural divide only widens.

It’s a vicious cycle.  And one that only truth, transparency, and impartial justice will break us out of.  Essentially, we need Jesus.  

We need Him to bring His peace and the discernment from the Holy Spirit so we can look at these awful and tragic situations with wisdom that is not of this world.  We need God’s standard of justice to reign over all the unruly wannabe “justice” that is so worldly.  When our bias is to prefer one side or the other, we need His help to not show the partiality we are so stinking prone to.

“Partiality in judging is not good.  Whoever says to the wicked,

“You are in the right,” will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,

but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,

and a good blessing will come upon them.” 

Proverbs 24:23-25

We have to rebuke that which is wicked.  We must not stand back and pretend that sinful partiality is anything less than calling that which is evil, “good” and that which is good, “evil”.  We can not condone behavior towards cops, or anyone else for that matter, which is depriving them of their God-given rights.  We cannot treat them as somehow “less than” when they, too, are created in the image of God. 

Biblically, we see that their authority has been given by God.  Romans 13:1-5  declares that “...every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.”  

That doesn’t by any means excuse abuses of authority, but it also ought not enable a retaliatory public to take “justice” into their own hands.  The taking of justice into our own hands is precisely what we saw in the riots and traffic blockades that led to this particular incident.  It’s what we saw in pretty jarring detail in those few minute video snippets between that now deceased driver and the officer she was about to drive over.  And it’s what we have continued to see ever since this incident occurred, as tensions have only continued to escalate and the opposite sides become ever more estranged.  Sadly, this path is pretty predictable in our video-snippet driven, social-media-addicted world.  In the court of public opinion, that officer was immediately condemned.  

We’ve become so accustomed to it that we are all but blind to such insanity.  We hastily condemn the “innocent” and acquit the “guilty”.  But is it rightly our role to do so?  Who are we to decide who is innocent and who isn’t?  Who are we to hand out punishments or free passes?  Don’t we also deserve judgment?  Haven’t we all sinned and fallen short?  And yet, does Christ condemn us?  

Justice is His to have.  And it is for those whom He has established in those earthly roles to uphold.  As for the rest of us?  How about we start with praying that impartial justice be served here on earth and that God would grant wisdom and discernment to those in positions of power and authority to dole out such justice?

“You shall do no injustice in court.  You shall not be partial to the poor

or defer to the great, but in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. 

You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people,

and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor…

You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly

with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him…

You shall love your neighbor as yourself…” 

Leviticus 19:15-18

Perhaps the best way to fight such injustice is to live relationally in the first place.  To reason frankly (but respectfully and lovingly) with our neighbors.  To love them as we love ourselves.  

If I was spewing injustice, I would hope someone would (lovingly) set me straight.  And I am fortunate to have friends who would do (and have done) just that.  In this polarizing culture, bringing correction to someone is certainly not a popular path to take.  But perhaps it is a necessary one?  Perhaps by showing one another Christ-like civility, we can counteract our societal splintering.

“...Show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ…

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture,

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 

But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted

by the law as transgressors.  For whoever keeps the whole law

but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it…

So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 

For judgement is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. 

Mercy triumphs over judgment.” 

James 2:1-13

It should start with us, Christians.  It should start with His church showing the way.  It should start with us following the path for justice He has prescribed.  We cannot expect these worldly standards of justice to be up to par.  But we can point people to His biblical standards so they can orient themselves towards a more perfect justice.  

Micah 6:8 is notoriously known as a verse that is highly revered by the social (in)justice movement.  But that doesn't make the truth therein any less relevant in our here and now. We would all do well to ponder it and live by the standards God has defined for those words.  Do justice.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly.    

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” 

Micah 6:8