University and college experiences vary. Most students would agree, though, that they’re faced with a lot of different pressures. One of the obvious ones is the pressure to perform well academically.

Dealing with such demands can be pretty challenging—as though they can make or break us. But depending on how we approach them, lessons learned at such times can benefit us in what I like to call “the university of life.”

In this broader, all-inclusive university, I have found that Christ Jesus is a teacher whose life lessons can help us graduate with honors in each issue we face.

One of the chief lessons Jesus taught, through a story called the parable of the good Samaritan, was about caring for each other. This is the story of a traveler who’d been mugged on his way to Jericho. Two men, a Jewish priest and a Levite, saw the beaten man and walked on by.

But a man from Samaria stopped to assist him. He helped the injured man get to an inn, and even paid for his stay. This parable points out that really following the teachings of Jesus sometimes involves putting our own plans aside to care for those in need.

And taking that step can lead to some interesting benefits—as a friend of mine found out.

It was the final day of fall semester, right before Christmas break, and Katy was still working on a paper that was due before she flew home the next day. She was making no progress and felt there were major gaps in her research.

It was late at night in the library. She was alone and feeling extremely frustrated.

Katy writes, “After spending some time feeling sorry for myself, I realized there was a better way to proceed with finishing the paper. I don’t remember exactly what I thought in those few moments of silent prayer, but I clearly remember that the desire to surrender, to give up my own human plan and to feel God’s presence were quite prominent in my thinking.”

She closed her eyes and sat for a few moments, thinking about what that meant, when an older gentleman approached her. He asked Katy if she could help him with a computer problem he was having.

Her first thought was that she didn’t have time to help this man. She was already struggling to see how she would get her paper completed.

Then came a “Samaritan thought”—that no harm could come from helping others, and no gain could come from turning away from another of God’s children.

As Mary Baker Eddy puts it in her book Science and Health, “Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself.”

So she stopped her work to help the man. As she was assisting him at the computer, they began talking about what he was doing at the university. He offered to show Katy a recent magazine article about his work.

Despite her time crunch, Katy agreed to take a look. Although their areas of research were quite different, when he pulled out the magazine, she saw an article in it on the very topic she was writing about.

To Katy this was not a coincidence—it was a moment of divine grace. She explains “The article ended up being the ‘missing link’ in my research and I was able to finish up my paper and turn it in before flying out the next morning.”

Katy was delighted at the immediate nature of the answer to her prayer. Clearly, it had come because she had been open to interacting with this stranger in need.

She not only proved that we can—and should—do “whatever it is [our] duty to do,” but she also experienced the all-inclusive benefits of doing so.

She writes, “That night was a beautiful demonstration of God’s omnipresence. I had felt very alone … the library was nearly empty and dimly lit.”

Meeting the man, having a lovely conversation and seeing how both their problems were solved was a great reminder to her, she says, “that we are not alone and that our needs can and will be met.”

We won’t always immediately find our own answers by stopping to help others in the spirit of the good Samaritan. Unselfish giving actually precludes doing something for another to get something for ourselves.

But doing good will always be a blessing. That, at least, is one of the many lessons I have learned in the university of life.

Samaritan thoughts:

Science and Health
385:17-18
435:8
518:15-19

King James Bible
Luke 10:30-37