Re-imagine Law for Lawyers
Adapted from a Tim Keller Sermon, Titled "Re-imagine Law"
God instructed Adam to work and take care of the Garden of Eden. Similarly today, farmers cultivate natural resources to produce food; musicians re-arrange notes to produce music that nourishes the soul; and investment bankers organize labor, talent, and financial capital to meet human needs (Genesis 2:15).
So, what about lawyers? What’s the function of the law?
God proclaimed, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” Then God gave the Ten Commandments. The use of the possessive in the phrase “your God” conveys intimacy, implying relationship. Just as seeking to please others enhances relationships, God expected the Israelites to follow His laws (Exodus 20:1-17).
Psalm 81:10 echoes this: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt.” But what follows is “Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” There’s a connection among obeying God’s laws, fostering our relationship with God, and God filling our needs to help us flourish.
Because we are fallen, human-made laws are more coercive (negative) to preserve order and prevent chaos.
Yet, like salt preventing decay and enhancing flavor, lawyers should apply the law to prevent society from deteriorating and bring out the best in people (all made in God’s image). In other words, the law’s true purpose is to promote relationships and human flourishing.
Sometimes litigation is necessary to uphold justice and deter wrongdoers but avoid it when possible because it consumes enormous resources.
Lawyers must also examine their idols. Something legal and aligned with a client’s wishes may be wrong. Lawyers should serve justice for the sake of human flourishing, not human-made laws nor a client’s desires alone.
Human-made laws depend on the principles they’re based. Our current laws are more secular than religious. They reflect prevailing beliefs regarding human nature and needs.
A purely secular foundation is fragile. For example, marriage laws change when the intention shifts from creating stable communities for raising children to individual self-fulfillment. Or consider laws regarding human rights: They cannot rest on majority opinion, for they exist to protect the marginalized, nor can they be grounded in evolutionary logic, which favors the strong over the weak. For Christians, laws on human rights are based on the belief that all people are created in God’s image.
Thus, lawyers should follow God to set and uphold laws that strengthen relationships and enable human flourishing.
Adapted from a Tim Keller sermon, titled “Re-imagine Law”:
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/re-imagine-law-8242/
So, what about lawyers? What’s the function of the law?
God proclaimed, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” Then God gave the Ten Commandments. The use of the possessive in the phrase “your God” conveys intimacy, implying relationship. Just as seeking to please others enhances relationships, God expected the Israelites to follow His laws (Exodus 20:1-17).
Psalm 81:10 echoes this: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt.” But what follows is “Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” There’s a connection among obeying God’s laws, fostering our relationship with God, and God filling our needs to help us flourish.
Because we are fallen, human-made laws are more coercive (negative) to preserve order and prevent chaos.
Yet, like salt preventing decay and enhancing flavor, lawyers should apply the law to prevent society from deteriorating and bring out the best in people (all made in God’s image). In other words, the law’s true purpose is to promote relationships and human flourishing.
Sometimes litigation is necessary to uphold justice and deter wrongdoers but avoid it when possible because it consumes enormous resources.
Lawyers must also examine their idols. Something legal and aligned with a client’s wishes may be wrong. Lawyers should serve justice for the sake of human flourishing, not human-made laws nor a client’s desires alone.
Human-made laws depend on the principles they’re based. Our current laws are more secular than religious. They reflect prevailing beliefs regarding human nature and needs.
A purely secular foundation is fragile. For example, marriage laws change when the intention shifts from creating stable communities for raising children to individual self-fulfillment. Or consider laws regarding human rights: They cannot rest on majority opinion, for they exist to protect the marginalized, nor can they be grounded in evolutionary logic, which favors the strong over the weak. For Christians, laws on human rights are based on the belief that all people are created in God’s image.
Thus, lawyers should follow God to set and uphold laws that strengthen relationships and enable human flourishing.
Adapted from a Tim Keller sermon, titled “Re-imagine Law”:
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/re-imagine-law-8242/