On Off-Duty Cops

This morning I got up early and went to eat breakfast with a couple of my youth at Chick-Fil-A. We had a good time hanging out, talking about various things and looking at God’s Word together. The food was also really good. You can’t really go wrong with Chick-Fil-A. For some reason, one of my guys (I won’t say your name, Travis) ordered a peppermint chocolate chip milkshake at 7:00 a.m., not to mention the fact that it was about 30 degrees outside. About 15 minutes later, he started wishing he’d had a warm chicken biscuit…

As we were sitting there, we noticed a policeman over in the corner, enjoying a meal after he had obviously worked a night shift. Travis proceeded to make the statement that he could pull out a gun and do a lot of damage before the cop could do anything, since the policeman was sitting there eating (Let me clarify that Travis did not have a gun, nor would he ever do anything of the sort. He often makes quite outlandish statements for some strange reason, such as the time he told me he would put me in I.C.U., kidnap me, put me in his basement, and make me preach to him. Precisely. But back to the cop…).

I replied to Travis' initial statement/terroristic-threat that the cop was off-duty and that he might not even have his gun with him. Travis then pointed out that a cop is never really off-duty because he can still be harmed and is still responsible for the safety of the people around him. Thankfully the cop didn’t hear any of this conversation. Otherwise, he might have jumped up and tasered us all due to this talk of shooting guns at a policeman in the middle of Chick-Fil-A. Nevertheless, Travis made a good point.

Just because a police officer isn’t carrying a weapon doesn’t mean he’s not a police officer. If he changes clothes, he’s still a police officer. If he drives in a vehicle other than his patrol car, he is still a police officer. It is not the vehicle, the weapon, or the uniform that make an individual an officer of the law. Instead, it is the oath to protect citizens and uphold the law that denotes the position of a cop, and as a result, they are never really off-duty.

As Christians, we are the same way. Just because we’re not wearing our church clothes doesn’t mean we’re not a Christian anymore. If we aren’t using God’s Word, which is sharper than a double-edged sword, it doesn’t take away our responsibility to evangelize or live a righteous life. As Christians, we can never really be off duty because it is not a job—it is a covenant. We can’t just walk out of church on Sunday morning and clock out until next week. We still have the responsibility to perform the commands that God has given to us, regardless of where we go or what we’re doing.

1 Peter 3:15 says, “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” We can never drop our guard. We must always be ready at school, at home, at work, or at the store.

And you’ve got to be ready at Chick-Fil-A at 7:00 a.m. when you’re eating a peppermint chocolate chip milkshake.

Thanks, Travis.