By Name, Not By Number

I'm currently writing a paper about the crime statistics regarding the felonious law enforcement officer deaths of 2013. Riveting, I know, but this particular year is actually pretty interesting. Out of the years 2004-2018 (the years for which I could readily find such statistics), 2013 was the year in which the fewest felonious law enforcement officer deaths occurred. There were only 27 of them, compared to the others ranging from the low 40s to the upper 60s (one year, 2011, even hit 72!). In fact, all other years within that time period had between 1.5 and 2.7 times as many deaths as 2013 had. Because of this, I wrote that 2013 was a relatively good year. And it was... for everyone except those 27 officers and those close to them.

Life isn't about statistics. Life is about people. Each person has a unique story. And for those 27 officers who were feloniously killed in 2013, those stories ended in tragedy. As I read the summaries of how they died, I felt sympathy for them and their loved ones, sympathy that I didn't feel by looking at their numbers on a spreadsheet. As I read about them, they became more than numbers to me, and I know that they're already more than numbers to God.

God knows and loves everyone, not as statistical data points, but as His children. He knows the names of every law enforcement officer killed in 2013, and more than that, He knows their whole lives. He knows their hopes and fears, their greatest moments and their deepest regrets. He knows and loves each and every person who ever lived, by name, not by number.

To God, everyone matters individually, not statistically. We, too, should try to see people as people, and not just as statistics.