When I was on the job back in the day, training was a big part of officer safety; especially working in a suburb city near Los Angeles. I loved the job, my fellow officers, and the ministry attached to working with them and the community. It was a good ride and I am glad to have done it. Serving as a police chaplain, turned reserve officer, and then back to chaplain over a 20 year span brought me a lot of stories, experiences, and lessons that most cops would agree will stay with you for the rest of your life. We are losing more and more officers and potential officers to the political climate and hostile culture where lawlessness is trending (Matthew 12:12). This unfortunate realty is yet another indicator that we are very close to the Rapture.
I have a poster of a dark and foreboding alley with a caption that reads, ‘You wouldn’t go in there for a million bucks; cops do it for a lot less; reservists do it for free.’ I was the reservist who did it for free. We are a rare breed. There was something about the call to be a cop that supplemented my greater call to be a pastor; both careers are becoming more rare these days as more and more individuals are not answering that call. This kind of ministry is not for everyone; but if you are one of the few, there is no life worth living and doing like living and doing for Jesus.
Part of the ride was training, lots of training. It saves lives and it prepares you for what’s coming. One of the sessions involved a lecture on the five fatal ‘F’s. In this blog I should like to give you a brief on these ‘F’s in hopes that it will help you to live a better, more healthier life as we work and wait for the Lord’s return.
1. Fat – What you eat says who you are. The phrase, ‘you are what you eat’ would apply here. It’s not just how you feel about yourself so much as it is how you feel about what you eat and how that makes you feel. Emotions can make for nice visitors, but they are lousy leaders and long term companions; especially the negative ones. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing; whether it’s eating spinach or candy bars. In these fearfully and wonderfully made bodies, too much of the wrong kinds of foods can make us fat and cause all kinds of health problems leading to, among other things, an untimely and unsightly death.
Don’t get me wrong, I will eat an occasional donut, but it’s occasional. My work out regiment is more about using the food that I do eat to better my health. When a person is young, they don’t think about their health so much as they see their body is more of an amusement park than a sacred temple. The older we get, the more we understand how what we eat affects how we live and will eventually die. An old man once said it this way, ‘If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.’ This statement has more to do with eating right and exercise. When we get to heaven, we can eat whatever we want and not get fat. While we are here on this rock, we need to be mindful of what we eat because in the end, our body will tell on us.
2. Fatigue – ‘I am tired, all the time.’ This phrase is a common saying among those who struggle with good mental health. Water, vitamins, regular movement in the form of exercise, and a lot of positive stimuli that is both healthy and relevant to your improving lifestyle goes a long way. Good sleep is not to be underestimated. When we sleep, we heal. Too much sleep can be just as bad as not enough sleep. If you snore regularly, you are probably not getting good sleep. Snoring is basically an interruption of your airways which causes your body to fight to breath, thus keeping you from getting the necessary REM’s that you need to be healthy. If you fix this issue than your sleep mate will thank you.
I use a CPAP and it has made a world of difference for me. I realize that I may look like a fighter pilot when I go to bed, but when I get up every morning I am rested and ready for the day. My doctor told me that people who snore don’t get good sleep because it’s like someone waking them up 200 times in the night. That wouldn’t work for me either. I drive a school bus for a living (among other things) and falling asleep at the wheel in a bus full of kids is not recommended. They can sleep and even miss their stops, but as the driver, being awake is like, a good thing. Get good rest man of God, you need it and so do the people who depend on you; especially those who are closest to you.
3. Friends – The phrases, ‘Guilty by association; Birds of a feather, flock together; and bad company corrupts good morals’ all play part and parcel to how the negative influence of a so-called ‘friend’ can cause a naive person to stumble in their way. You have to ask yourself, ‘Is the person I am befriending a healthy and safe person?’ Our friends are not perfect, nobody is except for the Lord; however, if we allow ourselves to be influenced by their negativity, hostility, or abusiveness, it can lead to worse things. If they are kind, nice, and considerate, this is a good thing.
A good way to assess a good friend is to observe how they love and interact with others. Solomon said, ‘a man who has friends must himself be friendly.’ (Proverbs 18:24a) Being friendly is a key part in making good friends. Discerning good character in others is also key. Don’t settle when it comes to friends or potential lifelong mates. Take your time, enjoy the process, and be as friendly and discerning as you go. There are many a person out there who wishes they had a friend or two to rely on for company, safe conversations, or just to enjoy life with. You can tell a person who doesn’t have many friends; it shows up in how they love and interact with others. I would encourage you to get and maintain good friendships in life; it’s not just for school kids.
4. Fear – It can be a crippler, something that paralyzes a person in their advance. While fear can also be a good thing, keeping us from obvious harm and within acceptable safe conditions, too much fear can kill a person. It can cause a person to not think clearly when they need to. It can lead to panic and other stress related behavior that can thwart a productive life. While courage is not without fear; rather, it’s fear under control. The only way to defeat fear in our life is to be courageous in our effort to overcome that thing that you fear. When on the job, too much fear can jeopardize your safety and the safety of your partner. Not enough fear can cause you to become reckless. Me thinks that younger people need to fear more and older folks need to remember what healthy fear looks like. I love God and I fear (reverence) Him, this was Christ’ instruction. (Matthew 10:28)
When I am fearful or feel fear, I have to ask myself, Why do I feel this way?’ Knowing why we fear can be just as important as properly channeling our fear into a healthy outcome. We are told 365 times in the Bible to not fear. The context for each occasion has more to do with not trusting in the Lord who is always with us and in every situation. If we realized this more, we would fear less. Practicing tactical breathing, taking a second look, and assessing what needs to be done in a given situation will all play into a positive outcome. Healthy fear can save our life and keep us from ruining it; unhealthy fear will kill us. A proper fear (reverence) of God is part of a good foundation of our faith. While a relationship with Jesus may begin with fear, it should always lead to love, which casts out all fear.
5. Finances – We must be good stewards of all that has been entrusted into our care, which includes, but is not limited to, our finances. Good financial stewardship will enhance your lifestyle and long term goals. Even if the economic system in which we operate collapses, the principled disciplines of how we manage our numbers will still be with us. Everything that we have belongs to the Lord, yet He only asks for the first tenth. As we give it to Him, so He will bless the other 90%. While there are those who would disagree with this most simple tithe discipline, I should like to challenge them by saying that I would rather have 90% of my money with God’s blessing on it, than 100% with His curse. My wife and I always tithe and we always have, even giving more to missions and other noble causes for the faith. As we approach our late 50’s, we can see how God has blessed us.
How we spend says a lot about who we are. Discerning between needs and wants or just being able to tell what I can afford or not afford goes a long way. There is a lot of things I don’t buy, a lot of places I don’t go, and a lot of things I don’t do, because I just can’t afford them; and I am okay with that. The truth is, I am so grateful for what I do have and that’s good enough for me.
Financial integrity goes a long way and how we spend our money and do our taxes says a lot about our integrity. One of our officers, back in the day, had to secure a crime scene inside a dead man’s house by himself while waiting for the Coroner to arrive. There were drugs, guns, and a lot of money spread all about the kitchen where the body was. The officer later said that his integrity was challenged as he never took anything, he just secured it. That may have been a different story for a lessor person or one who was struggling with their finances.
I grew up poor and I worked hard to get where I am today; but I couldn’t have done any of it without Jesus. In the end, when I die, the only thing that will follow me out of this world are the good works that I did in Jesus’ name. While those works can’t save a person (only Jesus can save), they do say something about how we love the Lord. Knowing the difference between our needs and our wants will also help us in our overall financial portfolio. Ask yourself, do I really need this item. If I can live without it, I can do without it.
Well, there you have it, the five fatal ‘F’s. It’s a brief on a much larger and longer study on our integrity. I hope that you are doing well and that you will be able to give a good account of how you lived your life, ate your food, got your sleep, made your friends, feared appropriately, and spent your money. God is watching, He is with you, and He is for you. Trust Him, He’s returning for us very soon.
Maranatha!
Encouragemen is a blog written by Pastor Rob Lee, recently relocated to Northern Missouri. He lives with his wife of 34-years, near their three adult children, their spouses, and children (their grandchildren). Pastor Rob is an Ordained Assemblies of God minister, a former Lead Pastor (25 years), police chaplain, and community advocate. He continues to serve, consult, and disciple men of God, including those who are in the ministry.
Encourage Men 