Dear Dave,<\/p>\n
In the grand scheme of things, your decision to go to law school is less important than you think.\u00a0 Actually, let me rephrase that.\u00a0 Your DECISION (the simple fact that you have finally DECIDED on a course of action) is quite important.\u00a0 Our free will as human beings is meant to be exercised, not kept on the shelf till it petrifies.\u00a0 But the choice of law school is morally neutral: as a lawyer, you can do much (or little) either for or against Christ\u2019s Kingdom.\u00a0 It\u2019s up to you, and no one else.\u00a0 The example of today\u2019s saint can give you some pointers on how to do the right thing.<\/p>\n
David succeeded to the Scottish throne before Scotland had really come into its own.\u00a0 He spent much of his reign warring against the English (he had sworn fealty to his niece, Matilda, from whom Stephen wrested the English throne), unsuccessfully (although Stephen did grant him an earldom after the Battle of the Standard).\u00a0 He achieved much more in his efforts on the home front.<\/p>\n
His mother, St Margaret, Queen of Scotland (not the later Queen Margaret, who was captured and imprisoned by the English during the Reformation \u2013 here we\u2019re still in medieval times), seems to have educated him well in the faith.\u00a0 As King, he encouraged the spread of Christianity by founding monasteries (including the beautiful Melrose abbey) and churches.\u00a0 He also encouraged the establishment of numerous works of charity: poor houses, leper houses, and hospitals.<\/p>\n
But he wasn\u2019t just a pious do-gooder; he exercised his political power in accordance with justice and prudence.\u00a0 In fact, he endowed a number of Anglo-Norman nobles with land-grants, creating an aristocracy that became the backbone of a feudal system designed to unite the many independent (and often warring) communities of Scotland under a uniform legal code.\u00a0 He further stabilized the political structure by establishing a chancellor and a feudal court.\u00a0 This all made St David what one recent biographer has called \u201cThe King Who Made Scotland\u201d.<\/p>\n
But have you ever heard of King David of Scotland?\u00a0 Probably not.\u00a0 And that, my bright young nephew, is my point.\u00a0 King David certainly struggled with the temptation to pursue worldly glory, to \u201cmake a name for himself\u201d \u2013 after all, the worldly power of a medieval baron was nothing to scoff at, and it was all at his fingertips.\u00a0 But he didn\u2019t give in to the temptation.\u00a0 Rather, he governed as every Christian ought to exercise their earthly avocation: in such a way as to worthily represent Christ\u2019s goodness and truth.\u00a0 He dedicated himself to justice and order, and became an authentic peacemaker \u2013 which made him into a genuine child of God and guaranteed him a place in the everlasting Kingdom.<\/p>\n
I hope you don\u2019t let law school uproot the Christian good sense you have begun to form in the last few years.\u00a0 Remember, only what we do for God and our neighbors lasts into eternity \u2013 where we won\u2019t need lawyers anymore.<\/p>\n
Your loving uncle,<\/p>\n
Eddy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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