What Happens When You Give Your Law License to God?

By STEPHEN BLOOM, Esq.(1) and JEREMY ROE(2) No matter what your talents and abilities, you have had to make some difficult, realistic choices to be a Christian lawyer, and no doubt you have had to give up some precious things to pursue your chosen field. For me, I knew becoming a lawyer meant: Less time with my wife and, later, with my three kids; I would have to cut back or even give up my creative dreams, such as writing and playing guitar; and giving up my interest in economics and politics. If you want to succeed in your career, some willful, voluntary submission is necessary. THE SEDUCTION OF SUCCESS But there is also a danger in that kind of submission because it can become seductive and addictive. You can get so caught up in the rush of being the most successful employee or the sharpest lawyer that you lose track of everything and everyone else so focused on chasing success that you even abandon your faith and your relationship with God. It is a dangerous way to live, and it explains, at least in part, why so many people so many Wall Street executives, so many politicians, so many lawyers, so many pastors end up losing their morals and values, wrecking their marriages and families, and finding themselves destroyed by addiction, greed and vice. A person in any career who falls out of connection with God is a disaster waiting to happen, and surely, a lawyer without faith and belief in God is a really big disaster waiting to happen. The pressure to conform to the lowest-common-denominator ethics and expectations of your field only gets more intense the more successful you become. Things come up that tend to draw you away from your relationship with God, things that, if you are not careful, can turn you into a Christian in name only. THE SHADOW MISSION Another way to think about all this is to use Pastor John Ortbergs term shadow mission.(3) The concept of shadow mission is that every Christian has a God-honoring, life-changing, fulfilling, satisfying, challenging, true mission to carry out for the glory of Christ the kind of holy life-mission, the kind of adventure for God to which we all aspire. Isnt that really what you desire in your heart to serve God in a genuine, meaningful,

important way, to be a powerful witness for Christ in a broken world, to be on a true mission for Jesus? But, lurking in the shadows, waiting to tempt us off course is our shadow mission. Ortberg talks about the shadow mission like this. Part of what makes the shadow mission so tempting is that its usually so closely related to our gifts and passions. Its not 180 degrees off track; it is just 10 degrees off track, but that 10 degrees is in the direction of hell. If we fail to embrace our true mission, we will live out our shadow mission. We will let our lives center around things that are unworthy, selfish and dark.(4) Jesus himself had both a mission and a shadow mission and Satan confronted Jesus with temptation to follow his shadow mission. Satan tried to get Jesus off his true mission by offering him an easier path, an appealing compromise on some key issues of Christs character and identity. And Satan will try doing the same thing to you. Satan confronts all of us with shadow missions: My shadow mission is to be a cutthroat, aggressive, greedy, arrogant lawyer who does not care who gets hurt or what is moral or fair or just the kind of lawyer who keeps his faith in a box for Sunday mornings only. FIND YOUR TRUE MISSION How do we as Christian lawyers steer clear of our shadow mission and stay whole, healthy and vibrant in our Christian faith? How can we integrate that living faith into our careers and stay on our true mission for Christ? Psalm 37:4(5) illuminates 10 principles for finding your true mission as a Christian lawyer and integrating your faith with your career: (1) Give your heart to Christ as Lord and Savior. No matter who you are, if you have never come to the foot of the cross, never been born again, then you must take that step. (2) Do not assume that having faith is enough. Be alert and ready to resist when Satan presents you with a shadow mission for your career that hits all your weakest places, and plays perfectly to your ego and talents. (3) Dont let your career become an idol. Get involved in activities that force you out of your professional role. Give the First Fruits of your money and your time by working with kids and youth at your church, sleeping over at the homeless shelter, mission trips, and doing real hands dirty high-risk church leadership. (4) Do not be afraid to reveal your faith in the marketplace. Be a transparent, hopeful, honest, joyful witness in your work. Do not hide who you are, do not hide Jesus Christ. (5) Do not be afraid to make drastic career changes if your lifestyle is dishonoring Christ or diminishing your relationship with Him. (6) If everything you are doing looks just like what your secular peers are doing, then you are not doing it right. You need to be just as professionally competent as your peers, but be salt and light by bringing the love and light of Christ into your work.

(7) Money is nice, and it can be a great blessing, but God has other more amazing riches for you that sometimes only get revealed when youre willing to quit chasing the money. (8) Be a peacemaker. There will be destructive conflict in whatever type of work you do. Conflict can be used as an opportunity to unleash the power of God. Actively encourage restoration and reconciliation instead of retribution and revenge. (9) Seek counsel from God. Pray and open the Book. Lawyers, take note: Do not elevate mans law over Gods law, and do not elevate mans wisdom over Gods wisdom! (10) Prayerfully ponder: How Jesus would use your legal education; your expertise, abilities and talents; and your influence. Then, give it all to him! THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART When I cheerfully and genuinely gave my law license to God, He gave me the desires of my heart, including all the things I thought I had sacrificed to pursue my legal career! God gave me more time with my wife and kids. After leaving a secular partnership and starting a Christian law practice based in my own home, I went from leaving in the dark and coming home in the dark to eight critical years of being around almost all the time, interacting with my family every day with quality and quantity, including a really flexible vacation schedule. God gave me opportunities to play music and be creative. I was able to serve in my church with radical but joyful commitments of time, including coordinating our contemporary worship service for six years, learning the guitar, playing in our praise band, and writing music. God gave me writing opportunities. I wrote the Believers Guide to Legal Issues, published and released nationally in 2008. Now it is available on Amazon.com and Christianbook.com. Shameless plug: Get a copy for yourself, one for anyone you know who might be facing a legal situation, and also one for any law students, lawyers, or judges you know it is an easy read, light, engaging, and written for regular people. I also write for the Christian web site Crosswalk.com. God allowed me to pursue my passion for economics. I have been fascinated with economics since my college studies, and out of the blue, I was presented with an ongoing opportunity to teach economics from a Christian perspective as at Messiah College. God allowed me to get involved in politics. I am running a campaign as candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to restore and protect fundamental freedoms and cut the size and scope of government. Additionally, I regularly preach the Word and share Christ in dozens of venues including radio, TV, churches, colleges, and law schools around the country.

I finally realized, after 20 years of practice, the possibilities for serving God and others as a Christian lawyer are just beginning to open up. By daring to integrate my faith into my career and turning my back on my shadow mission, my professional stature and reputation as an attorney is higher than it has ever been. ---------NOTES (1) Bloom, author of The Believers Guide to Legal Issues, has practiced law for more than 20 years. In addition, he writes for Crosswalk.com and teaches economics at Messiah College in Pennsylvania. (2) Roe, Class of 2012, adapted this article from a March 10, 2010, speech that Bloom delivered to pre-law students at Liberty Universitys Helms School of Government. (3) JOHN ORTBERG, OVERCOMING YOUR SHADOW MISSION (2008). (4) Id. (5) Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart (New King James).