Mother doesn’t want me to become a lawyer

Dear Pastor,

I am a teenager and I am just out of high school. Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher.

My grandmother and my mother are teachers. My grandmother taught in a primary school and she should get the credit for teaching me how to read and how to appreciate books. Most times, every gift I got from my grandmother was a book. I still have most of these books. My mother taught in a prominent high school for many years.

My mother has been encouraging me to go into teaching. Recently, a young man and I have become very close friends; his father is a lawyer. This guy wants to follow his father in that field. I am becoming interested in the area of law. My grandmother told me that I should follow my heart, but my mother says that I would have to try to get scholarships if I want to pursue law. My mother is not encouraging me to do law.

Every time my boyfriend and I talk about the future, he said that we could join his father's firm, and all of us should make a powerful law firm. My mother says that I can go to teachers' college first and then move on to law school. I think that my mother wants me to forget about studying to be a lawyer. My mother tells me all the time that lawyers are liars, and I am a Christian, so I should always remember that Christians should not lie.

My boyfriend told me that his father told him that a lawyer does not have to lie, but he has to be clever. Is it wrong for Christians to become lawyers? I would like to hear your opinion.

L.P.

Dear L.P.,

Many years ago, I met a gentleman who was a Christian in the state of Georgia. He was a lawyer and practising in that state.

I found out that there were cases that he would not take, and when I asked why, I was told that it was to maintain his integrity. So if this man would have to lie to save his client from going to prison, he would not take the case. On the contrary, I had to do business with a lawyer who had his office in May Pen, Clarendon, and as he was dealing with me, he said that as a lawyer, he had to lie. Then he said he did not want to lie, but from time to time he was forced to lie. And he acted as if he was so distressed because he always had to lie in his field of work.

Now, I am not a lawyer, but I do believe that a person should always maintain their integrity in every field. What I am trying to say to you, young miss, is that I do not believe that every lawyer is a liar. I have known some good Christian lawyers and I do not believe that they are liars. If you would like to study law, do so.

Pastor