Voice from the Congregation
About this blog series:
We believe that the gospel is to shape not just our so-called ‘spiritual’ lives but every part of life including our work. As such, we want to hear from members of our congregation as to how the gospel speaks to their different vocational contexts. In this blog we’re looking at the legal field.
The Gospel and the Legal Field
The legal profession reflects the beauty of God in an unexpected way. Lawyers must be meticulous and critical, and use plenty of care in their work, reflecting the way God keeps track of His creation and people. God knows where all the fish are (Luke 5:4-6), and how many hairs are on our head (Luke 12:7). He also is meticulous about records, recording our activities on earth (Malachi 3:16).
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. – Daniel 7:10
It is this beauty that attracted Fiona to law.
The foray into the field
When she was young, Fiona never thought about going into law, yet God brought her in this field. She had interned at a law firm and did not like it at all, so she decided to go into the arts, doing theatre production at the Academy of Performing Arts (Hong Kong) for 2 years. She enjoyed this environment, but soon she discovered that her giftings might be elsewhere. Furthermore, people in the programme seemed disconnected from reality so Fiona had a change of heart about the legal profession. She went back to the drawing board, and decided to study abroad. But in order to convince her conventional Asian parents to support her endeavor, she chose a ‘respectable’ profession. God used her good grades in art and her desire for fairness to help her get into a law school in the UK. Fiona is now a lawyer specialising in litigation and arbitration in shipping, energy, oil and gas disputes.
Forgiveness in an unforgiving world
Fiona sees how law reflects the beauty of God; it brings order and justice in society. She admires the care that lawyers must take in their work, checking everything with a fine-toothed comb for typos and mistakes. It reminds her of Japanese product design that many people love as it contains much detail – even a humble food wrapper which is optimised for convenience! Occasionally, this means that too much time is spent on the details that do not matter that much, but the work itself is beautiful. However, the same critical and detail oriented personality of a lawyer can have a dark side when applied to human beings. Lawyers are competent people, yet at times they will have a rather high opinion of themselves; it took lots of effort and smarts in order to pass their law exams after all! When critical minds get haughty, harshness for juniors ensue and “older brother” mentalities creep in. Interestingly, prideful people are also insecure. They focus on others’ faults to elevate themselves, and establish authority. Fiona remembers the way she was once treated, and most importantly, remembers that when she makes a mistake she is still first and foremost a daughter of God. Once she was asked to give her opinion on one of her colleagues. She tried to give a balanced view and be more forgiving. In general, Fiona tries to make an effort to point out the good work of her juniors, as she does not want to ‘establish authority’ by being critical of others. After all, it is more important to do what is right in the eyes of God rather than men.
God’s different, redemptive way
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
Christian lawyers are called to be different. There are many ways they can do so and thus further the kingdom of God. One of the ways Fiona sees His Kingdom come about is when billable hours are not the sole focus of the business: “When money is the priority, it would be natural to say ‘yes, you have a case, even when they do not!’”. Christian lawyers can be a light by telling the truth even if it means turning down business.
Furthermore, they are often well positioned to do good for society with their skillset and are able to give much support to people whether inside their companies by being encouraging to colleagues or by being attentive to the needs of their clients. There are clients who may not be able to pay or are on legal aid yet need fair representation. A notary public for example can charge extra just for a signature on something. While Fiona does not encounter many lawyers that first and foremost look to the needs of others even at a cost to themselves, she has seen Christians (also in our church) that decided not to exercise their rights to charge in order to support those who need it.
God’s Work Through Us
We are called to go and make disciples in every nation and every industry and God told us that He would work through our work. Fiona realizes that lawyers need the Lord and she hopes she can be a witness wherever she goes. God led Fiona to share the gospel with someone else in the field. For Christmas, she felt called to give the book “Reason for God” to a colleague, who has been to church but is a non Christian. At first she felt awkward since he was more senior than she was. Yet later she learned that he was going through an unexpected difficult situation. She prayed that God would use the book to pursue him even through his challenging and sad situation. She does not know many Christians in the field, that’s why Fiona enjoys being in the ‘secular world’: “It is easier to reach out to people in my environment”.
Fiona hopes that the legal field will undergo further transformation by God’s hands. I hope people can use their talent and skill to help others. We are very ordinary people, yet we need to make use of what we have been given.