A justice once told a story about a father who had a five year old son. As early as the child’s age, the father wanted to know the future of the child. One night, he decided to put some fruits on the bedside table of his son, a few bills on another table, and some books in an empty bookshelf. “If my son gets the fruits, he will be engaged in agriculture; if he will play with the bills, he will become a business man; if he will grab the books and read them, he will be a philosopher or a teacher”, the father said. The following day, the father was really excited to find out what choice his little boy made. So he went straight to his son’s room and slowly peeped through the door. What he saw was unbelievable to him. He saw his boy on the bed reading a book while eating an apple, and the bills in his pocket. He closed the door gently. “My son is going to be a lawyer”, he thought.
I have been reminded countless of times by my professors that being a lawyer gives the privilege of having a buffet of opportunities. Not only can a lawyer be a litigator in court, he can also be employed in different areas of work. He can be the country’s president, a judge, a legislator, a prosecutor, a legal counsel to a corporation or a private individual, a businessman, a mere employee in any office, you name it. He has a general knowledge on almost everything which makes him so versatile.
A lawyer has a great power in his hand. He could make lives miserable, but he can also make lives better. One of the best examples to explain this would be the element of fire. As explained to me, fire can be used to physically hurt others or to commit arson, but it can also be used for cooking and to warm bodies when it is cold. It all lies in the intention of the one using the fire.
Humans as we are, we sometimes get carried away with the worldly things and forget about our real purpose in life. There are some students who want to become lawyers merely because they want to be rich. If I am to give my two cents, that sole purpose is too shallow. At the end of the day, it is not money that can give a sense of meaning in life, but the joy arising from being able to help a person be free when he was unlawfully imprisoned or from giving justice to a woman who was brutally abused by helping her to imprison the offender.
A simple message I want to relay to my fellow law students is to never forget the real purpose of the law. We do not aim to unjustly enrich a person at the expense of another, nor do we aim to punish the innocent for our self interests. We were given a calling by the Most High for us to make this place a better one to live in.
Always take note that every person must in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, in lieu of Art. 19 of the Civil Code, do all things for God’s greater glory and for the good His people.
Hi! This post is just an excerpt from an essay requirement I had in school. I was quite hesitant to post this in fear of criticism (peace out to the English majors out there), but my hope of helping a law student or even a lawyer to reflect on this matter prevailed. The holy spirit convicted me to share this. Lol. Thank you for reading! God bless.
my words & everything in between 