I wonder if he knew that I was praying for him as he sat crying in handcuffs. I was guarding the door and hiding my empathy. Others in the security office were too caught up on the catching of "the bad guy", stoked on the energy. It was a job well done. Hundreds of dollars of merchandise that this guy pushed out the store saved. To top it off: he was a fighter. He tried to run away from security.
Misery best discribes the state of this 30 year old man once in the office. The life he has was unraveling in his head; He was overcome with emotion pondering the worst. -By now I could tell he was Bi-Polar, I could tell his mind was running manically. I've been in parallel places. He pleaded for pity. I could tell he was truthful mostly because he was spouting out his life: stating his divorce, unempolyment, his son, and getting out of jail four days ago. His life was so taken by the Devil that his ethics were compromised to permit theft. He needs to take responsability for his actions, that is clear. God has willed/placed the laws, even civil ones. This is my proof that Satan preys on the weak to compromise morality and replace it with deception.
The cart he pushed out was brought into the office. The clothes this man stole -none would have fit him... He wanted to give the world to his son. Without Christ, our best intensions to love still fall short and lead us to sin, in this case a theft of passion. As I was folding the boys clothing and arranging it for evidence photos (a very weird feeling), God impressed upon my heart to pray for him so I will continue to do so. It is God's will placing me to do what I do for a living. I'm not about to give him a cookie or a glass of warm milk, and send him on his way. Nor am I going to pass judgement or beat him up for attacking us.
This is not only a lesson for him but a lesson for me because I'm seasoned (until now) to apprehend people stealing because of opportunity or selfishness. A Bi-Polar person can be funneled in reasoning because of the manic state; Add Satan imposing his demons and you get a shoplifter just like him. I think he was decieved into believing that his actions are justifiable since he was in jail, couldn't pay child support, this was his way to help out and see his son. He was selfish though, to think that this was the only way to put clothes on his child's.
No matter the story, you steal from my work, I am trained to catch you. That is why I believe that it is God's will to use my labor to reveil the truth of his Son in an indirect way. In the interview room, I lifted up a silent prayer that satan be expelled by the spirit of Jesus Christ. I've prayed that the Holy Spirit moves in each of the "bad guys" I catch. Because the degree of evil they commited can one day be a fraction of the good they can do in Christ. In the Jesus Freaks book vol. 1 there is this account of a Christian being tortured by the same people daily for years and once freed he stated that he "could not harbor hate for the abusers because: who knows if they were the next Paul." So that is how I feel about the people I apprehend. Their actions have lead them to steal, and their time with me is gonna suck but God willing it will yeild a chance for a life decision. I have hope that each will come to be potent Believers in Christ though God Himself might not appear to ask "why do you persecute me?". After all, I wasn't planing on finding God and the freedom in obeying His Son. -I did- I hope to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus Christ is all truth like I know Him to be. It is a yearning inside of me (I think this might be my first time actually yearning something) My testimony reveals that truth I hope. I believe there is a Saul to Paul conversion everyday, giving the earth those colorful testamonies. I hope the guy who got caught playing Robinhood for his son today is one of them.
