Here is a letter from a reader and I’m wondering what you think? As an Anabaptist, I’m aware of this issue from a variety of angles, not the least of which is that violence and God’s kingdom are at odds. There are a lot of issues involved here, and one of them is that many Christians don’t even think about this sort of question. But what do you think?

Dr. McKnight,

I wanted to know your opinion on something. For many years I have felt
called to be a police officer. At one point I was planning on becoming
a pastor but I gave that up to pursue a career with the local City Police.
I know that God created government and police officers because we live
in a fallen world.

But my question is, “Should Christians be police
officers?”

Christians are called to live a life  marked by non-violence but does this necessarily mean that they cannot be apart
of the institutions created by God to keep order in our society? Can
you help me at all?

In Christ,