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Pride

Passage for Study: Luke 18:9-14

Pride is a common pitfall for lawyers because, as North Carolina attorney Robert Singer writes, lawyers are brothers of power. When clients are unable to resolve their problems, they will come to us, vulnerable, surrendering some degree of control. We are then responsible for directing a chain of events to a desired result that is both just and in our client’s best interests. Our self-centered, sinful nature can tempt us to use this grant of power to meet our needs: to "play God" or to use other people as chess pieces.

Pride has a "devilish strategy," says Dorothy Sayers. "It attacks us, not in our weakest points, but in our strongest." Consider some of the consequences of Pride: excessive competition; needing to win or to be right or first (sometimes at the cost of isolating those we love); taking unyielding positions; compulsive self-reliance that erects barriers against dependence on God and on others; stirring up arguments rather than fostering cooperation; boasting in accomplishments; and hypocrisy that blocks effective communication with others.

1. To whom did Jesus address the parable starting in verse 9? What do you think it means to "trust" or to be "confident" in your own righteousness?


2. Read verse 11. Revell's Bible Dictionary defines Pride as an "overweening self-confidence, resulting in an unwillingness to submit to God and an insensitive disregard for others." How did the Pharisee demonstrate Pride?

a. Can you think of instances in law school and in legal practice where these characteristics are evident?

b. How would you characterize the relationship you have with God? With others?

3. Examine verse 12. What did the Pharisee think made him "right" with God? Compare Romans 1:17 and 3:20.

a. In law school, students are rewarded for individual performance and achievement which encourages them to build their identity on self-sufficiency and isolation from others. Does this statement reflect your experience?

b. Name some specific ways that you can demonstrate God’s standard of "rightness."

4. Read Romans 12:10, 16; 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 and 13:4-8. How can love act as the antidote to the consequences of Pride? What does this imply about the importance of Christian community?


5. In verses 13 and 14, Jesus praised the tax collector for humbling himself. How did Jesus characterize the tax collector’s relationship with God?


6. Author Henry Fairlie writes, "The foundation of humility is truth... The humble man sees himself as he is... The humble man not only sees himself truthfully, he sees himself truthfully in relation to others." True or False? Are there ways in which you might need to humble yourself?

Envy

Passage for Study: Exodus 16:1-35

Andrea is a 2L who has just returned to school after spending the summer clerking at a small law firm in town. Her grades from her first year are average, but she is disappointed because she didn't make the top half of her class. It is interview season, and the hallways in Brown Center are buzzing with talk of who is interviewing with what firms and who is "the competition" among the 2Ls for the top spots. By the second week of school, Andrea and everyone else knows who made the top 10% from the first-year class. "What makes them better than me?" she wonders. This question haunted her for the rest of the school year.

The law school placement office posts course notices and interview sign-ups for different firms in the law school lobby. Everyone wants to get in a big firm where they can make a lot of money and list a prestigious firm name on their resume. Andrea cased out the career center office and saw that top firms (and even many medium-sized firms) will take only students in the top 10-15% of her class. Andrea feels cheated. Hasn't she studied just as hard, if not harder, than they have? It just isn't fair! Andrea takes consolation in the fact that most of the "top tenners" she knows "have no personality" anyway. She secretly hopes that they'll bomb on their interviews because they "can't even hold a decent conversation." Then maybe at least she’ll stand a chance.

1. Henry Fairlie states that "envy is not merely a grieving of another's good...but a grieving because one regards that good as diminishing one's own and even as reflecting disgrace on oneself." In what way is this case study an example of Envy?


2. Read verses 1-3 and 8-10. What was the basis of the Israelite leaders’ opposition to Moses and Aaron?


3. Read Proverbs 14:30 and James 3:14-16. According to these verses, what does Envy produce?


4. See verses 4-7. How did Moses respond to the attacks against him? What can you learn from Moses' response to his attackers?


5. From verses 11 and 30-33, who are we really attacking when we act out of Envy? How is this true?


6. Consider verses 15-35 together with Galatians 5:19-21. What is God's response to those who habitually indulge in Envy?


7. Re-read Galatians 5:19-21 and contrast verse 22-26; also see Titus 3:3-8, 1 Peter 2:1-3, and 1 Corinthians 13:4. As a Christian, can you choose not to act out of Envy? How? What advice would you give Andrea in the case study above?


8. Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 4:4: "And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Compare and contract Ecclesiastes 12:13. Looking at society in general and your law school experience in particular, would you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

Anger

Passage for Study: 1 Samuel 18:5-30

There is a distinction between the sin of anger and the emotion of anger (Ephesians 4:26). Resentment, backbiting, foul language, discrimination, seeking revenge, outbursts of rage and violence against others are all sins of anger. Feeling anger is not wrong, but once a person becomes angry, it is extremely difficult not to act sinfully because anger affects our moral judgments (Psalm 37:8, Proverbs 29:22). Only God can balance his anger with love (see Exodus 34:6-7).

God's Word gives us clear guidelines about how to deal with anger. We cannot choose whether we will get angry, but we can choose not to act sinfully when we do (Proverbs 29:11, Ephesians 4:26, 31, Colossians 3:8, James 1:19, 20).

1. As lawyers and advocates, we can be both subject to anger and a source of anger and strife. In many courtrooms today, the idea that "might makes right" is common; belligerence is easily mistaken for strength or courage, and abrasive, obnoxious behavior is seem as effective advocacy. Have you encountered this attitude? If so, how have you responded?


2. Background: Saul was Israel’s first king. David had a special relationship with Saul because David killed the Philistine giant Goliath and because David was close friends with Saul's son Jonathan (see 1 Samuel 17-18:4). Read verses 18:6-9. What precipitated Saul's anger against David?


3. Read verses 18:9-13, 17, and 20-27. Make a list of the actions that Saul took against David. Why do you think Saul acted this way? What do you think Saul could have done instead of taking these actions?

a. Think of an instance in your life when you were angry at someone. What actions did you take? What was the result? Do you think you could have acted differently? How?

b. On your own time, read 1 Samuel 19-31. Notice how far Saul was willing to take his actions against David. What can you learn about the consequences of anger from reading these chapters?

4. Re-read 1 Samuel 18:13-30. Compare and contrast David's responses to Saul with Saul's actions against David. Why do you think David responded this way? How did God show favor to David? How can you apply David's character in today's courtrooms or law schools?


5. Read Galatians 5:16-25. What kinds of acts are contrasted? Are any sins of anger listed? If so, what are they and in what category are they placed? How do you think this passage relates with the passages for study?


6. God's Word gives us specific steps for dealing with anger, especially anger directed toward other Christians: practice control (Proverbs 16:32, James 1:19), express (Matthew 18:15-20), confess (1 John 1:9), forgive (Proverbs 19:11, Matthew 18:21-22, Colossians 3:13), depend on God (Romans 8:28, 12:19-21). Is there a situation in your life where you can apply these principles?


7. Do you think that you can be an effective advocate and a peacemaker? If yes, how? If no, why not? Use the principles you have learned from this lesson to help you answer this question.