There Is Some Good in Everyone

Since a philosophy of life is developed from a steady growth of the mental workings within the individual, it is rather difficult to put down on paper the very beginning of that process. Personally, no doubt, mine had its inception at an early age through the Christian belief of my mother and my regular attendance at Sunday school and church. Gradually I became impregnated with the concept of the Golden Rule. This I have tried to follow in my daily contacts. I early believed that God placed me and all other individuals here on Earth for some purpose, that personally I owed a certain obligation to my fellow men to play the game of life so as to fulfill that purpose.

To fit myself better for my role, I decided I wanted to become a lawyer. Lack of funds was my stumbling block. Earnestly I prayed for guidance. God showed me the way. In my profession of law, mostly I came in contact with individuals who knew only the seamy side of life. That experience did not embitter me or cause me to become cynical. Rather, my sympathetic attitude toward those persons became stronger. I arrived at the conclusion that there was some good in everyone, in whatever status of life he might be.

In my attempts to carry on, I learned to have compassion for and a greater understanding of those about me. It was my duty and obligation to help those less fortunate than I to live normal, contented lives, to give them more than they might give me. I learned that everyone has problems, large or small, confronting him throughout his life. Some have the inner capacity to overcome these. Others must depend on outside individual and collective assistance.

I am convinced that my courage to face life’s problems came from God. I’ve met with blows and disappointments, as perhaps all others have at times. The God-given resources within me and my prayers for His help have come to my rescue to such an extent that I have been able either to cast these disturbances aside as unimportant, or I have been shown that such experiences were merely useful tools in leading me toward some further achievement. Never have I found it necessary to go into a closet or get down on my knees to pray to God. Always, everyday, and sometimes many times a day, I realize that my soul was on its knees in supplication.

I recall one day when I was sitting as a substitute judge of the Municipal Court in our city. Nine women charged with soliciting on the streets were brought before me for judicial action. I confess I did not know at the moment what to do. Then I bowed my head and reverently and silently asked His help in finding a solution. The answer came. What did Jesus do when a woman accused of immorality was brought before Him? I have always believed in myself, in my capacity to fight if I believed in my cause, and thus I fought for equality of the sexes under the laws and equality of opportunities for everyone.

As the years have come and gone, my belief in the Christian religion has grown stronger. I believe it has kept me in the well-worn path of my brother’s keeper. By following its tenets, I must be fulfilling at least one purpose for which I was born.