Walk with God to Reach Your Destination
/By: Joel E. Gordon
“There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it.” – George Bernard Shaw
So says George Bernard Shaw and I have always felt that to be true.
Although I have never worn my religion on my sleeve and throughout my lifetime kept my spirituality, religion and relationship with God a largely private and personal matter, I did grow up in a Jewish home with a mother who kept kosher dietary laws.
Having grown up in a kosher household, I was taught to have great respect and compassion for my fellow man along with all of God’s creatures. Pain was something to be avoided. For example, kosher slaughter, at least in theory, teaches that animals are to be humanely and painlessly killed for our consumption by using a surgically sharp knife devoid of any imperfection to severe the animal’s carotid artery causing the animal to instantly lose consciousness without undue suffering before imminent death.
Another aspect of Judaism that understandably affects officers of Jewish upbringing is the long historical need for Jews to question authority largely due to persecution throughout the ages. Blind allegiance was never my strong suit. More recently, the persecution of Jews by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis really hits close to home for many Jewish officers. Within my own family I have cousins who survived and escaped concentration camps after the loss of many other family members. Their stories and lifelong repeated nightmares of the horrors they faced and witnessed serve as a reminder that evil exists and that we must remain vigilant against man-devised controls that threaten our God-given rights. Personally, I was given orders on several occasions during my active policing years and resisted and questioned activities I felt went against my oath of office or moral compass. I can happily state that I never violated those principles which guided me.
My own story is one of assimilation. I was raised in a predominantly Catholic Baltimore neighborhood, did not attend regular religious services or activities (although I was Bar Mitzvahed at age 13), and do not consider myself to be a religious person although I remain a strong believer in God. While I may, as a Jewish person, still be waiting for the messiah to bring peace to our universe, my wife and children are all of Christian belief and accept Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior.
Over the years I have been exposed to the beliefs of many of the world’s great religious differences and have found value and commonality in many of the teachings. I am intrigued with great interest in concepts such as the Buddhist tradition of Karma referring to action driven by intention leading to future consequences. I always feel as though there is so much more to learn.
In 2019, there were over 697,000 full-time law enforcement officers employed in the United States. I can only believe that the major worldwide religions are all represented among our ranks:
Do law enforcement officers bring the results of their religious upbringing, evolvement and beliefs to work with them? Perhaps, but it’s all good for I have heard it said that those who walk with God always reach their destination.
