Chilling on the Fourth of July

Chilling....

Fixing to head down to my brother's in the Philly Metro area in a bit. About 75 miles but a much different culture. From Red to Blue in a little more than an hour drive.

I have instituted a flexible principle of sorts to not start drinking beer until around dinner time. The alcohol arc is better delayed until later in the day. Cuts down on over-consumption. So, I am intentionally staying ensconced up here until 2:00 or 3:00. Once I get to his Haus, there will be beer. The beer has been chilling in the back of my trunk on ice since 8:00 am this morning. Soon to follow, eating steak and shooting the breeze until late in the night.

Talking about chilling, I heard a talk Thursday evening by a man who is in law enforcement at The Rowhouse Forum. He spoke about his perspective of his work from a Christian Reformed perspective. It may come as a surprise to non-churchy types that there are very many differences within the camps of Christendom. Anabaptists, for very solid reasons both historical and scripturally, are pacifists. They eschew military service and civilian careers in bearing the sword of civil authority. I am glad that there is a witness in the Church catholic for this view even though it is not my perspective. It keeps us honest and aware that authority coupled with force presents many problems.

Us Reformed types don't go there. We believe that the governmental sword is necessary to restrain evil and promote order, and to my way of thinking, I would rather have an  orthodox Christian bear it than a Pagan. We often forget that Imperial Rome was so corrupt that Christians became essential in Civil government because others were so bad. I believe that Church and State should be separate yet they are just different spheres of authority. It is a complicated balance and I can't get into a full explanation here. The real issue essentially is that the government will always bear sword unless a place is in anarchy. So, it is more of a question of who is going to bear it and how.  

The speaker was thoughtful, informed, even-keeled, humble, confident, and calm. Chilling. It was his calmness that I noticed the most. I have known him for awhile as he is a graduate of the high school I have worked at for 25 years, even though he was not specifically my student (I am a school counselor for those of you who may not know that). So, I know more of him than just from the talk. I have to imagine that he is quietly effective in a position that most of us might just need to wear diapers to do. He deals with very damaged people who routinely damage others as a philosophy of life. And death.

Calmness is a trait much under-valued in our society. It is a steady demeanor of reacting appropriately to situations, particularly stressful ones, with a level head. Frankly, I think police work has traditionally got a lot of ex-jocks in the rank-and-file, people who are practical, concrete, and who may kind of dig the authority that law enforcement conveys and appropriates. Some seem to like the badge a bit too much. There are good cops, poor cops (who just are not good  at what they do), and corrupt cops. Some are hot-heads, not a good trait for one bearing a gun.

So, a thoughtful, competent, credible, and ethical individual, who serves in law enforcement is a blessing from God. Yet, calmness is much needed everywhere. Stress, anxiety, and problems cause many of us to lose our outward peace. The heart of the issue is that we have a lack of eternal and internal peace in our souls. It doesn't take much to set us off.

We have seen in the culture wars a scorched earth policy that show no sign of abating--a fire of anger that just won't quit. Fireworks are beautiful when they blow up in the sky. It is another thing to direct the pyrotechnics into a crowd. We need to lay down our fire-starters and our fuses. Stay calm. Chill.

Enjoy the fireworks!