Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. – Titus 3:13
Recently, lawyers have been mentioned a lot in local news stories.
Even if you don’t hang out in county or city board meetings, thanks to media coverage, you can follow the proceedings from your kitchen table or cozy armchair.
When someone was horrifically mauled by loose canines, you can read about the involvement of prosecuting and defense attorneys as they pursue justice.
Quite naturally, civil governments enlist lawyers to assist in various ways: not just writing and amending laws, but also delivering advice on how existing rules and regulations ought to be interpreted and applied.
And when the actions of government officials are called into question by others – such as we have seen done by the state auditor – attorneys are often enlisted to aid in clarifying positions and righting wrongs.
Sometimes citizens who feel victimized will engage an attorney to file a lawsuit against the government – as we have seen in recent years. Other times, attorneys will hire other attorneys to help them sort stuff out – as we have also seen recently.
Taking in all of the controversial issues of late, one might become a bit jaded – imagining that we have devolved into a litigious society in which there are too many lawyers and not enough law abiders.
My second son might agree with that view – he is a lawyer who is currently not practicing law. Instead, he has brought his knowledge of law to a technology company. (Something that is much needed, especially with the advent of Artificial Intelligence.)
Two side notes: 1) About 60% of US presidents had a legal background and 51% of current senators were lawyers. Considering the wide variety of careers, maybe this is an uncomfortable imbalance. 2) “Lawyer jokes” date back before Shakespeare. Circa 1591, the Great Bard himself included a coarse jest about getting rid of all the lawyers.
Disdain for attorneys is not new.
In light of all this, we ought to consider biblical guidance about how we should think of attorneys.
There aren’t a lot of Bible verses that mention lawyers directly.
Four come to mind. Paul told Titus to make sure that the church in Ephesus was equipping Zenas the lawyer and Apollos in their missionary work (Titus 3:13).
At a minimum this a) validates that a lawyer was important to Christ’s Kingdom, b) reminds us that all sorts of people – even attorneys – are members of Christ’s body, and c) lawyers are not able to make it on their own – they need our prayers and support. Therefore, I can state with biblical warrant: hug a lawyer today, he needs it.
In Matthew 22:35, a Pharisee who was a lawyer sought to test Jesus by asking Him to state the greatest commandment.
Jesus famously responded that he ought to love God and love his neighbor. Perhaps characteristically, this lawyer sought to trip up Jesus. Thanks to this attorney’s artful – though malicious – questioning, you have received a great truth. I can assure you with biblical warrant that even aggravating interrogations by attorneys can be spiritually profitable.
Luke 7:30 tells us that “the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves”.
Again, this might seem consistent with their reputation, so it highlights that, while reasoned argumentation might have its place, all of us ought to be careful about falling into the habit of rationalizing away God’s design for humanity through legalistic, self-serving goals.
Lastly, again in Luke 10:25, a lawyer sought to test Jesus by asking Him about inhering eternal life. Jesus gave him what we know as the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
Jesus then turned the tables on the lawyer and asked him who was the neighbor of the victim. The lawyer correctly answered, “The one who showed him mercy”, to which Jesus replied, “You go, and do likewise”.
To the attorneys out there, I affirm with biblical warrant that you ought to demonstrate mercy.
How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three, one to climb the ladder, one to shake it, and one to sue the ladder company.
Don’t go and do likewise. And to the rest of you: gain a biblical perspective: lawyers are people, too.
Well, mostly.
Pray for them and fellowship with these sinners who, like you, are in need of God’s grace.
See that they lack nothing. Jesus spent time with them, too.
