Is It Worth Answering the Call Anymore?

Over the past decade, it has been my honor to talk to law enforcement officers from every state across our great nation.

America is still a great nation; because our nation’s greatness is not defined by politicians, rather, the people who love her. 

That’s an article for another day. 

Over the last few years, however, there is a common thread I keep hearing from officers who have been on duty for twenty-plus years, and those on duty for less than two years: 

“Is it worth answering the call anymore?”

What call? 

The call to serve. 

How did we lose our way? 

I am not writing this to point fingers at any one person or group.  

I am writing this because it is an alarming issue. 

Recently I spoke with a chief who told me their agency has lost 30% of their officers in the last year. 

30% of any number of sworn personnel is a significant issue. 

Who will answer the phone when you call 911, if there are no dispatchers?

Who will respond, if there are no law enforcement officers?

How will private citizens be protected if there are none to protect and serve?

The great line between evil, chaos, and order, and good. 

I’d like to share a perspective with you; it’s my perspective. 

There was an ancient Egyptian god, a demon rather, known as Apap. 

This entity was called the demon of chaos and evil. 

How was it defeated?

Daily. 

It was defeated daily by good. 

Remember how determined you were in the days you chose to first answer the call to serve in law enforcement. 

Nothing could stop you. Nothing would stop you. 

But now, we are on the threshold of a falling nation, and you, once again, are the target of entities that want to use you, your brothers and sisters, and the call to serve, as a catalyst for creating chaos, havos, and evil. 

So, here’s my question for you: 

Is the answer to “Is it worth answering the call anymore” defined by the corrupt politicians, political groups, lawyers, media, etc? 

Or, is it defined by the children who cannot defend themselves? 

Or, is it defined by the grateful citizen who deems you an angel of God in your response to them in their time of need?

Or, is it defined by the victim’s family who looked you in the eyes and said, “thank you,” when you closed the case with an arrest and conviction? 

Or, is it defined by the driver you pulled from the burning vehicle?

Or, is it defined by the Veteran who was drinking coffee alone, and you sat with him? 

Or, is it defined by the parents of a missing child you helped to reunite? 

I could fill up pages with examples of why it is worth it and not a single reason is the ones who are trying to make your life and career a living hell. 

You see, it’s always the people we serve who make it worth answering the call. 

It’s never been about anything else…

It never will be. 

But it is up to this generation to hold the line. 

It is up to this generation to push back against policies that weaken law enforcement. 

It is up to this generation to tell politicians to stay out of law enforcement; unless they are willing to put their lives on the line, take up the pay of a police officer or sheriff’s deputy, and the pension that goes with it. 

It is up to this generation to determine whether the integrity of the Thin Blue Line and the term “brother” or “sister” still means something, and will still mean something in another hundred years. 

Think of the men and women who have paid the ultimate price behind the badge.

From the first night watch, to 9/11, to 2024. 

They paved the way through horrendous circumstances, not for us to waver. Not for us to back down. 

They paved the way for men and women like you to hold the line. 

One last thought. 

I know many of you reading this are not “bible readers.” 

But there’s a story, and a reason, I want to share this in brief. Don’t close this yet, I ain’t going to preach to you. 

In what we call the “Old Testament,” there’s a story of a young boy named David. He was a shepherd. His job was tending to sheep, fighting off bears, lions, and other predators. He would eventually become a king, and from his lineage, a man named Jesus. 

One day, he was taking some bread and cheese to his brothers on a battlefield. 

He arrived, and there was a giant of a man named Goliath taunting these troops. 

David said he’d handle it. 

Now, I don’t know this for fact, and I am certainly no theologian, but I can almost see in my mind the troops laughing at David saying, “sure little guy, here’s our shield, here’s our body armor, and here’s our weapons, go get ‘em.” 

But David was too small for those things. 

You see, he was equipped with a sling and a few stones. 

The scripture says that when Goliath began approaching the battle line against David, that David ran towards the battle line. 

Think about that. 

That spirit in David is the same spirit in you. 

You run to the battle line. 

You don’t back down from the Goliath’s of this world, in our country, in your community. 

You pursue it. 

But, like David, you can’t slay your giants with the weapons of this world. 

That’s not a super-spiritual statement. It just means, if they are using one weapon to destroy the calling on your life, there’s another opposite weapon you need to identify and use to defeat it. 

Truth. 

Honor.

Loyalty.

Courage.

Commitment. 

Above all…

Love. 

That’s what makes you great. 

In a world where many with loud bullhorns and microphones let you know how much they hate you and despise you…

You still put on your uniform, your badge, your duty belt, and answer the call. 

Don’t let them grind you down. Not now, not ever. 

Answer the call.

Run to the battle line.