It's always fascinating to me to watch lawyers go through the decision-making process on how to go about filing and winning lawsuits. It's not as easy as it looks. First of all, you have to be able to meet all the jurisdictional requirements where you're filing. And these can vary greatly from state-to-state. Then, you have to understand how the court where you're filing works. Court procedures tend to vary greatly from county-to-county. Then you want to make sure that you get to know your assigned judge's clerk so that you can make sure you adhere to your assigned judge's preferences. This varies from judge-to-judge. In the event you've never or rarely filed a suit in a certain county or court you might even need to hire a local attorney to help you figure out all the rules and procedures. Then, you have to be careful to follow all the rules and to present yourself in a matter so that the judge and/or jury will give you the time of day. This varies from locality-to-locality as well. Only then does it matter if you have a real substantive claim that is winnable.
Life is a lot like trying to file a lawsuit. HOW we do things is often just as important has WHAT we do. It's easy for us to know what we're supposed to do. But I think too often, we're apt to choose the easiest way to get there. Despite what we may think, the easiest way is rarely the best. When we choose the easy path, we tend to railroad other people. We tend to get angry with them when they're not going along with our plans. We tend to act too quickly. We tend to do things in a matter that might not be the most prudent or wise. We are this way because we are sinful human beings who forget to ask for help when we should, and we forget that waiting on God is more beneficial than taking immediate action. Waiting is hard, because it requires faith.
I learned this lesson the hard way last year. I really felt that God wanted me working with certain people in a certain place. But I accepted a position that I wanted, rather than what was best for those around me. And when a wise person told me that what I was doing was wrong, all I did was get angry--uncharacteristically angry. The whole ordeal eventually blew up when God humbled me to the point of demonstrating that I was going to have to give up all control of the situation. I literally walked away from what I thought I was supposed to do. 6 months later, God presented another opportunity for me to be a part of this organization. But this time, I was perfectly at peace with the matter. God opened the door for me to accomplish what I knew He wanted me to do, but in a way that was honorable to Him and was not hurtful to those around me. And today, I can honestly say that getting slapped upside the face last winter was the best thing God could have done to me. Because now I know I really am where I need to be.
You see, our motives and are hearts might be in the right place, but if we're not willing to go about God's work His way, we can really mess things up. Christians do this a lot. I see it happen more than I'd like. Good people try to do good things the wrong way. Let us not get caught up in this. Let us allow the Lord to determine our steps. Let us listen to "many advisors" so that our plans succeed. (Prov 15:22). And let us be humble enough to let the Lord direct our steps.
Just like many lawyers have learned the hard way, it doesn't matter how great your cause might be. If you don't take the proper steps to get there the right way, then what you're doing is pointless.
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