Article October 21, 2013 ISSUE

Love your teacher as yourself

Heather

This article was originally posted as a “Dear Me” blog on time4thinkers.com. The site’s “Dear Me” series asks bloggers to write a letter to themselves at a specific moment in their life, past or future.

Dear Heather,

Your rant fills the kitchen. This piano class is a nightmare. While your roommate listens, you rattle off your complaints. Your teacher is too condescending and sets unrealistic expectations. She is the cause of your bad grades and slow learning, as well as your lack of confidence. But when you pause to take a breath, your roommate startles you with this question: “Why are you taking this class if you don’t enjoy it?”

Her words play on constant repeat for a couple of hours. Why did you choose this class your senior year? Several reasons come to mind. You love playing music. You want to improve your piano skills. But this teacher! You went into this with the right attitude and the right motives. Why is she ruining everything by making you feel like you can’t get any better?

“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39, New International Version). This simple idea breaks through your swirl of thoughts. Instead of dwelling on the teacher’s negative qualities, it would be beneficial to see her good qualities. Jesus preached love and was able to love Judas, even after Judas betrayed him. This situation is much less extreme, and there are positive qualities to love in this teacher. She enjoys playing the piano just as much as you do, and she is teaching this class to help you improve—not to intimidate you.

And what about loving yourself—your own God-given abilities? That’s key to loving your teacher, too. Since God is infinite, and you reflect this infinitude, you have everything you need in order to improve. When you see that your teacher can’t stop your growth, and that progress is inevitable when you draw on spiritual resources, you’ll discover that it’s not even hard to love.

Tomorrow, in class, you’ll find that the atmosphere is quite different. Instead of responding defensively to your teacher, you’ll thank her for her advice. She’ll acknowledge the improvements you’ve been making, and for the first time, both of you will appreciate what the other is trying to do. And this change will be permanent. You’ll start to enjoy the class, and even your grade will change dramatically, for the better.

Soon, you’ll see this whole situation from a new perspective, and it’s a lesson you won’t ever forget. Love really is “reflected in love” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 17 ). Yielding to God’s view can and does alter our course.

Lots of love,
Heather

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