We might have had the Messiah come to fight the bad guys, settle the scores of good and evil and put things right once and for all. Our stories, plays, movies and political rhetoric express the desire for a strong hero.

It was prophesied of Jesus Christ that he would upend the proud and the powerful of the world, feed the hungry, and lift up the humble and powerless (Luke 1:46-55). His followers have been tempted to accomplish those goals by muscular might and political power ever since.

But God came to us as a helpless infant born in a stable to poor parents. He died on a cross, not a throne. In between, he taught twelve disciples, but didn’t raise an army.

Preachers love to preach and writers love to write on these dramatic contrasts between might and vulnerability, wealth and poverty, and pride and humility presented in the nativity of Christ. They fuel endless judgments about government policy, wealth and charity. Non-believers are obnoxiously fond of telling Christians how they should act.

For their part, ever since the Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and granted it state support, Christians have too often sought to enforce their teachings and establish their cultures by means of civil power.

It is easy to spout opinions about what the government should do and what the church should not do. Despite the fact we are voters and members, we detach ourselves from responsibility, but that doesn’t halt our judgments and criticisms.

But what is our personal responsibility to the Christ if not to fight for him? This has been my challenge as an attorney.

Practicing law suits me. My talents lie in logic and in verbal and written communication. I have a “fight” rather than “flight” instinct which lends itself to advocacy. Although, I do not like emotional arguments, I can speak my mind, confront, and draw a point or a cause to a conclusion. I have done these things all my life, and 37 years as a professional.

Here is the problem — my gifts are given by God, but they are not what he wants from me. Jesus Christ came to be my life (John 1:4, 10:10, 14:6, 17:3; Gal 2:20; Col 3:3-4; 1 John 5:11-12). He possesses all of me. I cannot claim that my talents or instincts are God’s final answer to me. If my life is his, he can do with it as he wishes and my response is to heed his instruction in his Word and by the Spirit and to obey.

The implications of Christ’s possession of my life work out in time and experience. In situation after situation, the question is the same — Do I trust Jesus Christ? Do I trust a Savior who would show up to the challenge of eternity as a helpless baby revealing a complete dependence on our heavenly Father?
Or do I give in to the threat conveyed by the facts in front of me and put my abilities and skills to work praying God will help me help myself?

More and more, I have learned to pray, “Lord, do with me and through me as you will. Do not let my abilities and good intentions get in the way of what you need to do in this situation. Strip my ego and concerns out of this.” It’s a prayer I initially prayed with trepidation, but have increasingly learned to plead with confidence.

As we entered this season, a client was being battered by demanding letters from an attorney representing the employee. The employee, while senior and well-regarded, was resistant to changes in the workplace, hyper-technical in objections and increasingly non-communicative.

The attorney was insisting he be present at any meeting between employer and employee. This is something I have never allowed in my entire career. Employers need to discuss workplace issues with employees without outside interference. Having to conduct a routine conversation with an employee through an attorney signals an irretrievable breakdown in the employment relationship. I never attend such meetings for the employer either.

I wrote back stating the employer’s position and refusing the meeting. The attorney wrote back in a manner that let me know his client was really doing the writing. There were many things about the changes that frightened him to the point of incomprehension. If things didn’t turn around he would self-fulfill his own prophecies of doom leading to termination and a probable lawsuit. Yet, neither the employer or the employee wanted that result.

My client and I prayed. I was impressed to take a risk on meeting with the employee and his attorney.  Having an attorney present can sometimes put more gasoline on the fire of conflict, but an ethical, responsible attorney who desires a constructive result can help the parties get there. My client agreed to a meeting and I set it up.

I had no doubt that my client was right about the process and the result. To meet with the opposing attorney was a concession that was hard for me to accept. It seemed weak. My client had resources. It could defend a lawsuit successfully.  To meet was to ignore advantages in the law and in resources.

What was more important — being right or the relationship? Prayer poured out. I simply prayed, “Father, as you know and as you will do justice and have mercy in this situation.”

We met together. Information was shared. The client and I kept our tone restrained and positive. The employee’s attorney did the same.

At one point, when the employee  expressed concern and dismay about future actions, I spoke up and said, “I want to make something clear — we are not playing ‘gotcha’ with you. We respect your service, your abilities and your years of contribution. We respect you. We have no desire to hurt you or trick you. We recognize and will keep our obligations to you.”

The employee stared at me for a long moment, and then said quietly, but precisely, with glistening eyes, “Thank you for that.”

The meeting ended with common understanding and an agreed path forward for improved communications and relations.

There is no big deal about this. Variations on this scenario were probably played out in thousands of law office conference rooms that day. But the difference was in my heart.

I made my reputation as an attorney who would press hard, take a pound of flesh and scorch the earth” to use some of the cliches clients used when referring others to me. Those are still my first instincts, but I have learned to follow the Lord, not my instincts.

“What do you want me to do, Lord?” is a prayer of trust. When Christ was born in the stable and the manger, our heavenly Father destroyed all human expectations of righteousness and opened up all the possibilities of love. When Christ died on the cross, he said nothing can stand in the way of my love for you. When the Father raised his crucified Son from the tomb, he said, nothing can stop me giving you a new life.

If we are loved unconditionally, by the One who gives us eternal life, what are we fighting about here and now?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote–
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“O taste and see that the Lord is good. Happy are those who take refuge in him” (Ps 34:8).

Under the mercy of Christ,

Kent