Why Do I Sue? By Their Fruits You will Know Them. ("Matthew 17:16)

It's not an easy decision when it comes to bringing a lawsuit against someone, especially in a business arena or some area other than a traditional sense of inequality. Yet, this question is not only important to someone who contemplates a lawsuit, it is equally important to someone who may sit in a jury box.

A biblical approach for this topic certainly is not everyone's cup of tea, but, throughout my practice, the issue of whether you should bring a lawsuit against someone or some organization and the underlying reason(s) impact your disposition of heart, your willingness to go all the way through, and the meaning of your lawsuit.

People shall say to you, "[s]top judging, that you may not be judged." (Matthew 7:1). But, the judgment of which Jesus speaking against is the judgment of someone's heart. Good people do good and wrong things; bad people do wrong and good things. Perhaps, it is a matter of degree and how each person strives to live his/her life in accordance with the scriptures even when this person is being condemned in a lawsuit.

The person against whom your complaint is filed (or will be filing) should be judged by his or her actions. The scripture indicates that you cannot judge a person's heart, but HE commands us to judge by fruits in terms of actions.

"Every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." (Matthew 7:17-19). More often than not, throughout the discovery process, parties reveal their deposition of hearts and a true and meaningful conversation can be taken place, particularly in a business context in which life or death is not at stake. Yet, two adverse civil parties tend to seek money as a reflection of the other side's disposition. The lawsuit may be about money, but, a lot of time, it's about a sense of betraying a relationship between two parties entered.

Lastly, "[b]y their fruits you will know them." (Matthew 7:16). I wish you peace, even in the midst of the storm, for HIM shall be with you.