Handcuffed by Policy
Earlier this week fire crews and local police in Alameda, California could only watch as a man waded into San Francisco Bay, stood up to his neck in the water, and waited. After nearly an hour in the water, the man eventually drowned. Emergency crews did not respond because they could not–Alameda city policy did not allow them to try and save the 50-year-old man. The policy was implemented after budget cuts forced the department to discontinue water rescue training and stop maintaining wetsuits and other rescue gear, according to the fire chief. The chief went on to describe how frustrating this was from the emergency responders perspective–they wanted to do something for this man who was determined to commit suicide, but were “handcuffed by policy at that point.”
“Handcuffed by policy”…those are chilling words, aren’t they? These emergency crews knew what to do; some had been trained to do what needed to be done; no one doubted the action that needed to be taken; but local government policy kept them from engaging. There were other factors involved. They didn’t know if the man was violent, or if he had a weapon. Even if they hadn’t been shackled by policy, the risk might have outweighed a rescue attempt. But ultimately they were “handcuffed by policy.”
To be fair, there were about 75 other people who stood along the beach and watched this man drown, and none of them ventured out into the water, either. They weren’t handcuffed by policy; they were held back by other barriers, like perhaps fear or apathy. And as I reflected on this story today, I thought about how this tragic situation illustrates the challenge faced by followers of Christ when it comes to sharing our faith.
We encounter “drowning people” regularly–people without the hope offered by the gospel. They don’t know it, but they keep inching their way into more dangerous territory day-by-day. And we watch. We have conversations with them, we may go to lunch with them, we might even carpool with them. But our conversations never take a turn in the direction of the good news about Jesus. They are drowning and we know what to do, but like those spectators on the beach, we make no move to offer the lifeline of hope. We are handcuffed by fear, apathy, or perhaps insecurity. Whatever the barrier, we watch as they inch their way into more dangerous water without Jesus Christ.
This story has been a wake-up call for me. How about you? What are you handcuffed to when it comes to sharing faith?
November Elders’ Message