In 41 years of driving, I can say that I’ve only been stopped three times by the police. Each time, I was clearly in the wrong and I admitted my fault immediately to the officer. I was ticketed twice and once, I was let off with a warning. I never once thought of trying to evade or refuse to answer his questions. I was always taught to respect and cooperate fully with law enforcement.
I know you’re curious, so I’ll just tell you. The first ticket came when I was 18 and trying to get from work in Archbold to the courthouse in Bryan to do a title transfer. I wasn’t trying to speed. I was just zoned out listening to the radio and thinking about everything I had to do. When the officer asked what my hurry was, I told him the time the title office closed and I was in a time crunch. He said he understood and suggested that they needed better hours…and then gave me a ticket.
The next time was in Bloomington, Illinois while visiting my mother-in-law over Thanksgiving. This was before I had GPS. It was rainy and I had been sent to the store for something. On the return, I got turned around and couldn’t find my road. It was dark and I was paying more attention to street signs than to speed limits. Suddenly, I was leading a parade of two vehicles, the other one with red and blue lights flashing. The officer wished me a Happy Thanksgiving, gave me directions, and just told me to watch my speed.
The last time came a number of years ago when taking our youngest daughter to a volleyball camp at Cedarville. Yes, my foot had grown a bit heavy, but I realized it and was slowing back down – but not before a State Trooper made a U-turn and came after me. My speed wasn’t his issue. I didn’t have my seat belt on which got me a ticket. When I saw him turn around, I realized that I hadn’t put the belt on after lunch and I quickly put it on. However, he knew it wasn’t on when he saw me, and he asked about it. I didn’t lie. I thought my honesty was going to result in a redemptive moment. It didn’t.
Today, you are encouraged to be anything BUT cooperative with the police. An MSN Daily Spark article lists 12 things to never say to a police officer. I was expecting to read that you shouldn’t joke with them about eating donuts, sleeping on the job, or having nothing else to do but set in a speed trap. Instead, you’re encouraged to never answer these questions:
- Have you ever been arrested before?
- Have you consumed any alcohol or drugs prior to or while driving?
- Are you experiencing any physical or mental impairments that could affect your driving?
- Do you have any weapons in the vehicle?
- Do you know why I pulled you over?
- Is this your current address?
- Why are you in this neighborhood?
- Who else is in the vehicle with you?1
As I look at those questions, I’m thinking that for the safety of the officer and the general public, these are legitimate questions. And, if you have nothing to hide, why wouldn’t you answer these questions?
Proverbs 28:1 tells us that, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Why would the wicked do this? John 3:19-21 says, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (20) For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (21) But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
The wicked person may not have done anything wicked. However, the bent and nature of their unredeemed heart is wicked. When righteousness enters the room, they flee or get defensive because their deeds are evil and they don’t want light exposing them.
Law enforcement is righteous because it was established and sanctioned by a righteous God. Romans 13 is just one of the passages that tells us how we must respond to this authority that God has placed in our lives.
While I hope none of us gets pulled over, remember when you do that the officer is just doing their job. Do they ever get things wrong? Of course, because they are human. Most of the time, though, they are spot on. So, show them respect and kindness and thank them for their service – even if they hand you a ticket.
1https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/12-questions-you-should-never-answer-if-police-pull-you-over/
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