Two men grew up together, childhood friends. They went to college together. One became a very successful lawyer. He worked for twenty years making a ton of money, and then became a judge.
The other man became a businessman.
The judge lived by a hard code of ethics, he had saved nearly every dollar he ever earned as a lawyer, and became known as one of the toughest judges in history, always giving out the hardest of penalties for those found guilty in his court.
But the businessman never quite made it big, like his friend. He struggled from one failure to another. Then the businessman got into some trouble and ended up stealing from his company just to pay his bills, and was caught.
He went to trial and, sitting there on the bench, was his lifelong friend. The news found out about this conflict of interest and waited to see, if the businessman was found guilty, just what his friend the judge would do. Would he give him a light sentence, in view of their friendship, or would he follow his own hard line ethics and throw the book at his old friend?
The jury came back and the verdict was read, GUILTY.
The judge looked down at his friend. The businessman hung his head in shame. He was broke, bankrupt, stealing just to pay his bills, and now it seemed that all was over.
The people in the courtroom held their breath. What would the judge do?
The judge then proceeded to hand out the biggest penalty that the law allowed. His friend would have to pay back all the money he stole plus a huge fine. The amount set a new record for a penalty given to an individual. In comparison, this amount was equal to everything that the judge himself had saved from his days as a successful lawyer. If the businessman could not immediately pay back everything then he would go to jail, likely for the rest of his life.
The courtroom was a buzz with everyone whispering about the judge’s harsh penalty. How could he be so mean? Couldn’t he show a little mercy to his lifelong friend? No one seemed to notice when the judge slipped off his black robe and came and stood beside his friend.
The judge put a hand on his friend’s back and quietly said, “I’ll pay it all for you.”
I give you this little story on this Good Friday and ask my open-minded friends here on this board to think about this. I’ll not engage in any debates about this today. I have no proof to offer you; it is a question of faith. I just ask you to consider these words:
The other man became a businessman.
The judge lived by a hard code of ethics, he had saved nearly every dollar he ever earned as a lawyer, and became known as one of the toughest judges in history, always giving out the hardest of penalties for those found guilty in his court.
But the businessman never quite made it big, like his friend. He struggled from one failure to another. Then the businessman got into some trouble and ended up stealing from his company just to pay his bills, and was caught.
He went to trial and, sitting there on the bench, was his lifelong friend. The news found out about this conflict of interest and waited to see, if the businessman was found guilty, just what his friend the judge would do. Would he give him a light sentence, in view of their friendship, or would he follow his own hard line ethics and throw the book at his old friend?
The jury came back and the verdict was read, GUILTY.
The judge looked down at his friend. The businessman hung his head in shame. He was broke, bankrupt, stealing just to pay his bills, and now it seemed that all was over.
The people in the courtroom held their breath. What would the judge do?
The judge then proceeded to hand out the biggest penalty that the law allowed. His friend would have to pay back all the money he stole plus a huge fine. The amount set a new record for a penalty given to an individual. In comparison, this amount was equal to everything that the judge himself had saved from his days as a successful lawyer. If the businessman could not immediately pay back everything then he would go to jail, likely for the rest of his life.
The courtroom was a buzz with everyone whispering about the judge’s harsh penalty. How could he be so mean? Couldn’t he show a little mercy to his lifelong friend? No one seemed to notice when the judge slipped off his black robe and came and stood beside his friend.
The judge put a hand on his friend’s back and quietly said, “I’ll pay it all for you.”
I give you this little story on this Good Friday and ask my open-minded friends here on this board to think about this. I’ll not engage in any debates about this today. I have no proof to offer you; it is a question of faith. I just ask you to consider these words:
