A Letter to My Facebook Family and Friends

Dear FB Family and Friends,

I know it seems a bit odd that I’m writing this to you in a blog post vs the standard usage of a FB status update. But I knew this would be a bit too lengthy for FB, so the blog is a much better forum. Now onto the point of this post…
God knows I really try to stay the heck away from politics in my posts, but I have to say it, because right about now, I’ve really had it “up to here.” So ride with me for a minute…

There are roughly 1.2 million police officers operating in various different roles in this country.

There are close to 320 million people living in this country.

Now pause on those numbers for a minute… When you’re done, ask yourself, “Gosh, 1.2M officers… are all of them bad? 320 million people… is everybody bickering?” What most of us will likely find out is that we all probably share the same opinion: that the greater portions of both groups are law-abiding individuals who are really just trying to get through whatever their daily tasks are. Yes, there are rotten apples in every bunch, but like the saying goes, “one bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch.”

But if you were from another country and watched our media, you’d swear all police officers are on a rampage, and that all Americans are robbing, killing or fighting with each other, and that nobody ever gets along, which is not the case here; but why do you think it looks that way? It’s not because there isn’t good here. I think it’s because the good goes grossly under-reported.

So, how can we flip that? Well, if you don’t believe in God or His Word, then this suggestion might not mean much to you. But if you do, you should read Matthew 5:14-16 and start practicing it daily. Let your light shine. Help someone else who is doing good things, no matter how simple or extraordinary, who may be too shy to talk about the good they’re doing in the community… someone who thinks what they’re doing is not that big a deal. Spotlight what that person is doing in their home/neighborhood/community. Tell them thank you and if you have the time or have it in your heart, offer to lend a hand. How about doing less sharing of acts of cruelty and do more sharing of acts of good. It’s that simple.

When you walk into a dark room, what’s the first thing you do? You turn on the light and the darkness disappears. When in darkness, the light of a single candle will draw the attention of all eyes. Jesus said, “A city built on a hill cannot be hidden.” How about we combat the darkness of this age by, as individuals or collectively, letting our light shine. And the beauty of it is, ANYONE CAN DO IT! Make the choice to do good. When you wake up every morning, have it in your mind to do the right thing; ask God to help you and believe that He will. If you don’t believe in Him, I guess that part won’t matter to you.

Tell somebody you love them and that you are grateful they are in your life… Tell somebody what they’re doing well sometime instead of always spotlighting what they’re doing wrong. Set your focus on what’s good (anything, no matter how small) and stop spending all day focusing on what’s wrong. And on the occasions where you see your fellow police officer (if you’re wearing the uniform yourself) or fellow citizen about to do the wrong thing or execute poor judgement, step up; get them to stop and think. Pull them aside, situation-permitting. Tell them that they’re better than that. Tell them the aftermath may not be worth it for anybody. The sports teams that win championships are the ones that keep their emotions in check during critical stages in the game. Like Michael Jordan pulling Dennis Rodman to the side and talking to him, letting him know how important he is to the team and how the team can’t afford to lose his rebounding and defense if he’s ejected. Those are the critical moments where the difference between winning and losing is realized. Good actions produce good outcomes. Remember that.

And no, I don’t walk around with blinders on. I see what’s happening in the world around us, but if you’re cooking a dish that’s too salty, it’s going to continue to be too salty until you decide to use less salt. Ask yourself, what can I do to effect positive change? In the same token that your body needs alkaline to balance out acid, you need good to balance out bad. You can’t neutralize bad with more bad.

So let’s start a new trend… Instead of sharing every negative video you see, how about a hash tag… Maybe something like, #FeelGoodFriday, where every Friday you post something positive that happened for you that week. Share some good news. And even in the moments of tension, look for the light and share that. If for example, you’re working hard to get healthy, or turn your life around, share your journey; you never know who it might inspire.

So there you have it! We have to stop the negative skid folks, otherwise we’ll end up being the generation that looks back and says, “I wish we had done things differently.” Let’s kick off #FeelGoodFriday this week! FeelGoodFridays will be a great way to start off the weekend anyway. Anyone up for a new trend?

God Bless and have a wonderful day!

-MT

7/29/15