Week Thirty-Two, 2018
THE GOLDEN ONE
By John Grant
Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12
Matthew 7:12 is the twelfth verse of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This well-known verse presents what has become known as The Golden Rule. It is considered to be a summation of the entire sermon.
It has always been a summation of my career, because when I became a lawyer, it was the hallmark of my profession…. treat others as you would like to be treated and seek justice for all you serve.
This hallmark of the profession was particularly real to me recently when I attended the state bar convention to be recognized and honored for having practiced law in the state for fifty years. When I took the oath before the court in 1968, there were many who took it with me. Today there are only 313 who joined me in the golden celebration.
A lot has happened over those fifty years and the celebration brought back a lot of memories. It was my mother who told me at an early age that I should be a lawyer, allegedly because I talked so much.
I was in college and still didn’t know what I would do. I heard that the attorney Louis Nizer, a famous Jewish-American lawyer was coming to town and I went to hear him. There I met Judge Harold Sebring, the famous judge who presided over the Nuremburg Trials after World War II. By then he had become a professor and law school dean. He invited me to visit the law school and the rest is history.
I applied for and received a scholarship that paid for my books and tuition. I married the prettiest lady in town, who had a fresh teaching degree and a job offer of $4,700 per year teaching first grade that put gas in our car and food on our table. We lived very comfortably, as I worked through the courses.
Upon graduation, I was enamored with the high calling of my profession. I got a job as an associate attorney in a local firm for $500 per month and taught at the university at night to make ends meet.
My first court appearance was to argue a writ of habeas corpus for a man who had been wrongly imprisoned. I also worked the other side as a prosecutor, trying people who had committed serious crimes and needed to be off the streets for their own good and for the good of others. In each and every case, winning or losing was not relevant, justice was.
Over the years I have practiced several types of law for several firms, and continue to do so today. Still, the goal is not making money or getting notoriety, but to use the words of Job to “do what doth the Lord doth require of thee, to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”
It’s been a great ride.
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
A father who was teaching his children to play the piano. He went to great lengths to explain how important it was to practice. One day he decided to try a new illustration.
“Do you know who Arnold Schwarzenegger is?” he asked.
The children said, “Yes. He’s an actor.”
“Do you know how he became famous?” the Dad continued.
Seeing they were unsure, he told the children that he was famous because he was very strong. “He has huge muscles. His arms are bigger than my legs.”
Then the Dad asked the key question, “Do you know how he got his big muscles?”
After a moments silence, his son reluctantly replied, “By playing the piano?”
–o–
The mother of the bride and the mother of the groom were having some difficulties with each other as they planned the wedding. They went together to pick out their own dresses for the wedding and both liked the same dress and they each wanted it. Finally the groom’s mother told the bride’s mother that she should have it since it looked so good on her. The bride’s mother then went back to the dress shop later and purchased the identical dress and proceeded to wear it to the rehearsal dinner.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
Forgiveness is a beautiful word until you have to do it. Ken Whitten
Forgiveness – Releasing a person by choice from a debt or obligation incurred to you because of a wrong done against you. Ken Whitten
Stop focusing on what someone has done TO you. Start focusing on what God has done FOR you. Ken Whitten
He that cannot forgive others burns the bridge over which he must pass himself, for every man has to be forgiven. Thomas Fuller
Christians must focus on the permanence of marriage. Ken Whitten
When churches begin factional fighting it is a sign that they have lost their mission and purpose.
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©2018 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618