From Bad to Worse

From Bad to Worse
2 Peter 2.10b-22

‘A year or two ago I was invited to dinner with some friends, who had also invited a judge. I don’t often meet senior members of the legal profession, and I was intrigued to hear what he might say about his work.

My anticipation turned to shock when he told me what he’d been doing that day . . . and the day before, and the day before that, and so on. His world, he explained, was very far from the glamorous vision you see in the TV dramas (though now, of course, some countries allow actual trials to be broadcast, so the harsh reality is all too apparent). Most of what a judge has to deal with, in his part of the profession at least, is a sad and sordid procession of people whose lives have become hopelessly murky and muddled – in and out of different relationships, in and out of debt and financial problems, in and out of jail. Everyone who goes that route drags other people down with them. That brings its own trail of personal bitterness, mutual accusations, fault-finding, self-justifying – and sometimes then self-hatred, self-harm and even suicide. It’s a horrible, dark world, said the judge; and now, since he was off duty, could we please talk about something more pleasant? Had I listened to any good music recently?...

Taken from Early Christian Letters For Everyone by Tom Wright