2019 Guardian for Good Presentation
3 December, 2019 Sheriff Russell L. Martin
Delaware County, Ohio Sheriff Russell L. Martin presented the following as the keynote speaker for the first annual “Guardians for Good” event hosted by HelpLine to recognize outstanding community work by individuals.
It’s an honor to be afforded a few minutes to present today and give my observations and challenges on the topic of “doing good” in our community.
Great nations begin with great regions that begin with great communities, which are made up of individuals who choose service over self and reach out each day in some small way to help those around them to improve the quality of life for all.
Helpline is a local organization that has been doing that for decades; quietly, behind the scenes, adding to this community for our collective good.
As a young police officer and sergeant working the streets in the City of Delaware, we were often confronted with situations and challenges we just weren’t equipped to deal with or solve. Problems like homelessness, mental health, suicide, and the consequences of poverty.
It was always encouraging to know that you could reach out to that lifeline we called Helpline and request their assistance when we were trying to problem-solve situations for people who were in their worst circumstances.
And I am personally — and selfishly — grateful that years ago a Helpline grant afforded me the opportunity to attend a premier threat assessment training. I spent a week in California, training with Gavin DeBecker’s company and brought back to Delaware a set of tools that I have continued to share and use for nearly 25 years.
We live in troubling times, in an unsettled world that is changing at an exponential rate.
Through the internet, social media, and the never ending news and editorial cycle, we are bombarded hourly with the conflicts raging around the world, dealing with political upheaval, corruption, struggles over class and racial divides, addiction, seemingly growing mental health problems, and a host of issues too numerous to list.
Now, perhaps more than ever, we need to be Guardians for Good. First in our homes and then in our neighborhoods and communities.
We can become discouraged, frustrated or angry at the injustice we see and sense in areas we have little control or impact upon.
But we can make a difference HERE….and NOW. What we determine to do with those personal feelings of frustration when we choose to respond locally for GOOD WILL make a difference.
In recent years I have spent a lot of time pondering over the story of the Good Samaritan. Many of us know the account where Jesus tells the story of the Samaritan who stopped along the roadside to help one in distress. But a closer look at that account reveals a much deeper and compassionate charge.
Luke 10:25–37 New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
That is the question for today, “Who is my neighbor?”
The great teacher responds with a story. A story that could have been ripped from the headlines of the times. It is the story of a Jewish traveler who walks the trail from Jerusalem to Jericho.
My wife and I visited this region nearly four years ago and were taken back by the contrasting terrain in the area. You could marvel at the lush farmland in the lower regions and within miles find yourself in the midst of rocky and desert-like mountainous trails. The kind of trails where thieves and robbers would hide among the rocks and crags.
In this story, the lone traveler falls into the trap of some violent thieves who beat him nearly to death, strip him of his belongings, and steal his goods while leaving him half dead. In the story, several people pass by the wounded victim.
And what kind of people pass without offering assistance? Those considered religious at the time. But who stops to help the victim…a Samaritan.
What is the significance of identifying the mercenary as a Samaritan?
It is because the Jews despised the Samaritans. And most likely the sentiment was shared among Samaritans for the Jews. They came from different cultures, shared different belief systems and traditions, and probably looked different. This story would have presented that contrast to the audience. To the lawyer who had asked “and who is my neighbor.”
Jesus goes on in the story to tell how the Samaritan administered first aid, tending to the immediate need of the victim. How he patched up the wounds and then placed the near dead victim on his own horse and transported him to the nearest inn. The Samaritan gave up his ride for the infirmed.
But he wasn’t done. When he went to the Inn he prepaid for services out of his own pocket and then left a voucher assuring those tending to the needs of the victim that he would pay that bill as well upon his return.
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
The One Who Had Mercy
In recent years both my wife and I got involved in trying to help individuals escape the throes of addiction.
As a couple we focused on the needs of the two people. One had a significant criminal history and had disclosed to us that he had been sexually abused as a youth; the other had been diagnosed with a significant mental health disorder. Both suffered from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Both struggled financially and were unable to keep and maintain employment.
With caution, we brought them into our homes, not to live, but to share our family experiences. They shared holidays with us, we helped provide sustenance for them, made sure they saw doctors and helped them navigate employment opportunities and even drove them to AA meetings to sit in the parking lot while they attended. They became regular visitors in our church and we introduced them to a new community.
Between the two of them we dedicated extra time over the course of approximately a year and a half helping them to the best of our ability.
And I wish I could tell you both stories ended in success. But that wasn’t the case. Both eventually returned to their addiction and discontinued communication with our family.
It was messy being involved in their lives. At times it was sacrificial and in the end it was discouraging not being able to turn them around.
But I will tell you neither my wife nor I regret the time and experience.
During the most recent Thanksgiving, we talked longingly about the good Thanksgivings we had shared with both of them.
I cautiously share these personal accounts with you because I honestly don’t want others to think I am bragging about our attempts to help someone in a difficult situation.
In his book GENEROUS JUSTICE, Tim Keller confronts the issue of poverty — poverty of spirit and poverty in its traditional sense.
Keller writes, “Conservatives may argue that this is the parents’ fault. It is due to the failure of moral character and the breakdown of the family. Liberals, however, see it as a failure of government to stem systemic racism and to change unjust social structures. But nobody says that is the children’s fault they were born where they were. Those children are in poverty largely because they were not born into a family like mine. My three sons, just by being born where they were, have a far better chance to have a flourishing, happy life in society. There is an inequitable distribution of both goods and opportunities in this world. Therefore, if you have been assigned the goods of this world by God and you don’t share them with others, it isn’t just stinginess, it is injustice.”
Last spring I drove through townships in South Africa and observed firsthand the abject poverty of those dwelling side by side in tin shanties. In recent years I have visited Bulgaria and spent time among those who had very little material wealth. But the reality is poverty still exists even in our own country and in our own state.
Today, we honor Good Samaritans in our own backyard. Men, women, and organizations who exhibit mercy on a regular basis.
So who is our neighbor?
They are not defined by geography, rather by need. Each of us sits in a unique position to display mercy on a daily basis to a hurting world that is in dire need of mercy, grace, and dignity.
Darkness prevails where there is no light.
How then do we live in a world where forces are determined to divide us further?
I contend we pay less attention to the national headlines and more attention to the lines of people that live near us in need of a helping hand. What does our checkbook and Day-Timer say about the mercy we share for the less fortunate?
I recently attended an executive law enforcement retreat in North Carolina. There were NO taxpayer dollars used for the opportunity for my wife and me to escape for a few days to hear stories of resilience and recovery among the hurting in this profession.
On the last day, the keynote address was delivered by the Chaplain of the FBI National Academy. He is a Chief of Police for who I have a deep admiration. He challenged the attendees to get off the dais and get back to volunteering, to quit delivering speeches and get back to serving meals and cleaning up after others.
He was speaking directly to me. While I thank you for this opportunity today, the real Guardians for Good are those you recognize today and to those who show genuine mercy to their neighbors each day.
May God bless Delaware County, the Great State of Ohio, and the United States of America. And may He especially bless those who show mercy.
