President's Page, 1116 ALBJ, 77 The Alabama Lawyer 404 (2016)

PRESIDENT’S PAGE

Vol. 77 No. 6 Pg. 404

Alabama Bar Lawyer

November, 2016

Using Our Talents to Love Our Neighbors

Love your neighbor. We must do more than agree with this truth. We must open our eyes and our hearts to see the needs around us and respond.

All of us can agree that many people have displayed unselfish love to us throughout our lives. Maybe it was your parents who sacrificed their time and resources to help you be successful. Maybe it was a coach or a teacher who pushed you to be your best you. Or, maybe it was a seasoned attorney or judge who mentored you in the practice of law. Regardless, we can all admit that other people have affected our lives in ways that shaped who we are. It is quite sobering to consider the kindness that has been shown to each of us by others. We recognize that such kindness, or sacrificial love, must not be wasted, but shared and passed down to others.

I suspect that most, if not all of you, have had a profound and positive impact in the lives of others. You were blessed with mental and physical skills that allowed you to meet the needs of others. You learned life lessons along the way through suffering or experience that allowed you to empathize with others and counsel them.

Based on my life, I find it is easier to make an impact on those who are near to me–my spouse, my children, my friends–but what about the neighbors we don’t really know? What about the neighbors who don’t look like us, talk like us, live in our neighborhoods or attend the same places of worship that we do?

Wouldn’t we agree that their lives are valuable and worth expending time and resources to make our communities, our state and our nation a better place?

In October, lawyers celebrated Pro Bono (for the public good) Month. This is the month that we focus on providing free civil legal services to the poor. We want to draw the attention of lawyers and the public to the necessity of this program. While our purpose is excellent, I also hope that lawyers in our state will consider the fact that providing free civil legal advice is a selfless opportunity to love your neighbor–probably a neighbor who has a completely different life experience than you. This is not only an opportunity to use your unique skill set to help another human in a stressful situation, but an opportunity to make a new friend and receive numerous blessings.

Due to their selfless work, lawyers in...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT