Pastor warned me about his son

Dear Pastor,

I am a high-school student and my aim is to be a lawyer. I just admire lawyers. I see so many things happening in and outside of Jamaica. I want to be in a position to defend the poor.

I have an uncle who is a lawyer, and he is always telling me how some people who come to his firm are poor and unable to pay their fees, so sometimes he does not charge them much. Some people don't even bother to go to court because they do not have anybody to defend them. I would love to work with my uncle and to help with some of these poor people.

In my church, some members don't think that law is a good profession. They say that lawyers represent people who they know are guilty of committing crimes. There is a young man in my church who is the pastor's son. He too believes that and when I told him what I wanted to do, he said that I should think of another profession. He said that he loves me. I told him that I do not believe him, because a man who loves me should encourage me to do what I want to do. His response was that I should listen to him, because that's what a good woman should do if she is the wife of a man who loves her. I am 16 and he is 18. Both of us sing on the youth choir.

His father knows that we like each other, and he is always warning us to behave ourselves and not to bring any shame on the church, because he knows what his son is capable of. Once he called me before his son and asked me if his son had ever interfered with me. I was so shocked that I couldn't answer him right away. He told me he was warning me for my own good. I told my parents that I did not want to go back to that church and they asked me why. When I told them, they said that was the right church for me to go. Both my parents attended that church. Do you think it is wrong for me to want to be a lawyer? Is there anything wrong with Christians being lawyers?

R.J.

Dear R.J.,

Please set your mind at ease. You would like to become a lawyer and if that is what you would like to do, let no one discourage you. You are smart and intelligent.

You know you have to study hard. A good lawyer has to like books. In other words, you have to read a lot. I have met many young people who are doing law and they complain that they have to read a lot. I always laugh and tell them that if they don't read or like literature and history, they won't do well in law. People who say that Christians should not be lawyers are ignorant people. I am glad that we have many Christian lawyers. Many of them are my friends. I have a friend who is a lawyer and there are some cases that he will not take, but he enjoys his work and he is respected.

This young man may change. Perhaps right now he is only following the advice or teaching of his father. There is nothing in the Bible that says Christians should not be lawyers. The pastor has cautioned you. He probably observed that his son and you are very close and his son may ask you to go to bed with him, so he is cautioning you. Don't be upset with him for his words of caution. He is not trying to insult you or to condemn you in any way. But back to this matter of whether it is right or wrong to study law as a Christian. Focus on your goal. It is your desire to help poor people. I repeat, do not allow anyone to discourage you. I wish you well.

Pastor