ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q4-2024

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAPLAIN

Mike Hardee

United We Stand Through God

A re we really united as a people of faith these days, with understanding and compassion for one another? Our cul tural, economic, and religious differences have and will always present challenges of acceptance as people of many differences. As I write, the world is at war on so many fronts and it’s easy to become fearful of how all this discord will play out. But I am optimistic and pray with hope for a world that will come together in peace and that our fears of the future will be dismissed from our daily lives and become only a part of our history. Personally, I fear that the Lord is a bit disappointed and sad that His creation has drifted away from His teachings and His love for us. But before this starts to sound judgmental, I have to admit that I am just as responsible as the next person for such failures. I recently had to make a quick decision that, at the time, I didn’t realize would have a ripple effect on others. From my perspective it seemed like a straightforward choice, and I was ag gressive in my pursuit of the matter. The only person who would be negatively affected, I thought, was one person who had been misappropriating valuable assets of a business. But in my haste to deal with this individual, I ended up putting one of my neighbors – who I’d only known for a short time but considered a good friend -- in a position of having to choose between his friendship with me and his friendship with that person who was going to be terminated. This was someone he’d known more than 15 years, and he had been unaware of the embezzlement. Of course, he sided with his long-standing friend and the result was a divided neighborhood. I had offended my friend by not considering how this would affect him and the spot he would be in. It’s not that I would have made a different decision, but I regret how I went about it. Under standably, he felt betrayed. He took it as a personal attack on him and for that I am horribly sad. To his point, I should have consid ered the conflict this might have caused for him. Today I am asking God’s forgiveness for not handling the situation with more thought. How we treat others matters and how we feel about our actions reveals a truth about who we are and what we believe is God’s plan for us. I can only hope that someday this neighbor and I will be friends again. Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 (NLT) Now back to my point of where we go from here—despite all our differences with others, can we unite as God wants us to? Perhaps we can begin to think more carefully about how our views and words have a negative effect. Certainly, we are all en titled to our own opinions, thoughts, and decisions…but I think how we deliver our messages to others matters. As a grandfather and newly minted great-grandfather, I can’t help but worry about our future being so divided. We live in a

time of uncertainty. This is not yet the Divided States of America, but these days we seem to be focusing more on our differences than our common ground. At times our chosen profession has toughened us up to accept criticism and ridicule for how we live our lives as law enforcement professionals, and we do acknowledge that this as part of our job. We are not immune to emotional pain from offending the people we love and are close to, or for that matter being offended ourselves. I know that I am not. What I do know in my heart is that God is compassionate, patient, and forgiving and has a simple task for all of us -- that we believe and acknowledge that He is the one and only almighty God, creator of the universe. Regardless of our transgressions, our sins, or our misgivings, the Lord awaits our call and our prayers. In Him we are united, in Him we are one people, and in Him we can live in a world that is caring of others. I believe that this is -- as we like to say in law enforcement -- our mission statement. Through prayer we can overlook our differences and realize that God has a plan for each of us and if we only ask Him, we can find our way forward. I am often reminded to give thanks through prayer for what is good in our lives, what is safe and what brings us happiness. Our hope and dreams for the future is often fraught with disappointments and sadness, but I believe that is God’s plan for us as well. He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has plans for us, plans to give us hope and a future. So, I am praying for us to think about the scripture in Philip pians 4:8 KJV. Finally, brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Amen

God bless,

Mike Hardee Chaplain

24 FBINAA.ORG | Q4 2024