Today's Devotional

March 16, 2005

Subject:  A Profession Of Disgust

Proverbs 17:15 - "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD."

Proverbs 17:15 - "Whoever approves of wicked people and whoever condemns righteous people is disgusting to the LORD."

So if my opinion of lawyers wasn't low enough already, in a conversation with a lawyer friend last night, we debated the issue of how lawyers decide who they are going to represent.  At almost every turn in the discussion I felt the verse above echoing in my mind.  When my friend, a Christian who happens to be a lawyer (possible oxymoron - Christian lawyer?) made the statement, "well I guess a lawyer could only represent people they thought were innocent," then I knew that this was a profession with issues.  Eventually I asked a plain and simple question.  "In law school, are lawyers taught to ask their clients the straightforward question, 'are you guilty of this' or 'did you do it?'  My friend answered, "no, most professors will say that it doesn't matter.  The defending attorney's job is to put together the best case in the client's favor and let the jury decide."  By the way, here on planet earth if that person is guilty and the lawyer does that, we call it lying.

In the end we are all judged by God's objective standard of truth.  It's not a truth based on what our society allows or based on the standards of our profession.  If we find ways to pervert His truth and "justify the wicked while condemning the just," you can believe that God finds it disgusting.   

I've been in courtrooms and have seen "good" lawyers.  They make millions of dollars because of their ability to "get their clients off" without regard to their guilt or innocent.  We can make technical cases for why it is necessary to do so in our society, but God is not pleased by any society that justifies the wicked.  This isn't just about lawyers and judges, it's also about you and me.  We make decisions every day with these same implications.  Remember, truth and justice matter to God and they should always matter to us.  If they don't, we are disgusting to the Lord.

  Carlen