The principal who led my high school told the teachers, “If you will be nice to the students, they will be nice to you.” I’m sure that sounded great. It may have even worked in a few cases. But having survived four years in that Criminal Minds High School—where a teacher was shot, where bomb threats were a daily occurrence, where riots were not unusual—and having subbed or taught full-time in six other high schools, I have experienced it all. I can tell you from experience:
Students in American public schools behave better when leaders enforce consistent and serious consequences.
Yet, the notion of addressing criminal behavior with mercy persists. I’m all for mercy and compassion—from churches, from charitable organizations, and even from crime victims who have processed their grief and choose to offer forgiveness. But I am skeptical of those who would have the government replace criminal sanctions with mercy and compassion. Let’s have mercy on juvenile offenders and first-time offenders. Let’s be compassionate with convicted criminals who have paid their dues or show genuine evidence of having changed. But the history of Israel indicates laws must be enforced. We will always need law enforcement. Human nature requires it.
“In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes” Judges 17:6.
With this sentence, the author of Judges (probably Samuel) introduces a series of reports about the lawlessness that began to overwhelm the young nation of Israel.
What does it mean to have no king? It means no chief executive, no executive branch to enforce the law. No Department of Justice. No prosecuting attorneys. No police force. It means the government of the young nation was not organized enough to enforce the law or punish criminals. What happens if criminals are not punished? The same thing that happens if high school students are not punished: their behavior becomes a lot worse.
In Judges 17, a man named Micah creates his own shrine, hires a Levite to be his personal priest, and thinks God will be happy with him. Then Judges 18 begins with a familiar refrain: “In those days there was no king in Israel” Judges 18:1. The tribe of Dan was still struggling to find everyone homes in the Promised Land. When the Danites found Micah, they stole his shrine and his priest, then slaughtered the innocent Phoenician people of Laish (a city God did not order destroyed). In chapter 19, it gets worse.
“And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel” (Judges 19:1), that a crowd of men in the Benjaminite town of Gibeah attacked a woman “used her hard” until she died. Because there was no police force, her husband took it upon himself to spread word of this crime across the nation in a most provocative way: he dismembered her body and sent it out in twelve parts, one for each of the tribes of Israel. This action was so outrageous, it spawned a civil war between the tribe of Benjamin and the other eleven tribes. Things went from bad to worse—from badness to madness. How does Samuel sum it up? By repeating his refrain:
“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” Judges 21:25.
Thus ends the book of Judges.
Law enforcement officers are visible on the streets of Houston for the first time in several years, having been needed elsewhere. With no police on the highways, the driving on Houston’s fast and furious streets quickly descended to the level of criminal recklessness. The things I have seen in the last three years would take too long to report here. But here’s my point: I have greeted the growing police presence with genuine thankfulness. I find myself thanking God for them each time I see them. Yes, I will probably receive my share of citations. I have before. But I believe in law and order. We are a nation of laws. And with well-maintained, properly trained police forces, we will remain a nation of order.
God, bless us with good government, selfless and reliable executives, and law enforcement officers that are honest and strive to do their best day-in and day-out. Bless them and keep them safe.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 