Tolle Lege

Two weeks have now passed since the Dartmouth College Wheelock Conference, and yet I am still reflecting upon the many, unexplored ideas presented there.

Strongly considering a future legal career, I attended the Government and Law panel.  Immediately I was struck by the guest panelists; there was not an active practicing lawyer among them.  Stephen F. Smith, J.D. D’88 was the only former lawyer, having retired from practice to teach courses on criminal law, criminal adjudication and federal criminal law.  His report from the court room was not encouraging.  Smith noted that while working for his first large D.C. firm he found a surplus of ambitious young lawyers and a dearth of faith in action.  Stating that a “religious aspect [in his career was] necessary to breathe with two lungs,” Smith afterwards explored his call for justice in the classroom.

Not what I wanted to hear.  Leaving the conference that day, I felt less sure of my path and questioned my willingness to enter into a field intent upon separating church and state.  Do Christians have a place in the law?

The Ten Commandments outside a State Capitol

A passage of scripture my friend and I stumbled upon one week later sent a resounding yes.  1 Corinthians 6: 1-5 states:

“If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?  Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?  And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?  Do you not know that we will judge angels?  How much more the things of this life!  Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!  I say this to shame you.  Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?”

In his epistle to the Corinthians, Apostle Paul stresses the necessity for Christians to settle disputes amongst one another.  In Paul’s day, however, Romans allowed Jews and Christians to settle their own legal affairs.  With the United States’ commitment to separation of church and state, the liberty of a Christian trial by Christian jury is somewhat idealistic.  Smith also observes that separating church and state from a Christian’s decision making is impossible.  True Christians cannot endorse the inevitable falsehoods sometimes appearing within the practice of law without guilt and shame.  Therefore, does God desire Christians to enter these spiritually dark professions?  Again, Paul addressed my concerns in 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23:

“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.  To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.  To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law….To the weak I became the weak, to win the weak.  I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

Here, Paul testifies that he is called to witness in realms of spiritual darkness.  In subjecting himself as a “slave to everyone,” Paul demonstrates his love for Christ.  Theoretically, the practice of law exists to protect the freedoms of man under earthly law.  For a Christian, the law profession presents another opportunity to serve God through serving his children.  As fellow Christians, we are expected to uphold this servant’s heart, especially in areas with little overt Christian representation.