If you think learning is challenging, try to be a teacher…
One day I was standing in a college yard and a group of guys drew my attention. I was fascinated by their appearance. Their clothes had all foreign brands and looked fine and polished all over. They all seemed to me especially bright and blooming. They looked so united and even soldered together; I mean: they all seem to understand each other in some special way. I kept staring at them in fascination… Oh! If I could only wear this kind of clothes… and shoes… and have this complete look! I was so eager to meet them and to be a part of their life even for a short time…
Suddenly, one of them approached me and said:
“Hey, I see you grew weary from your studies…”
“Yea, it becomes a burden lately,” - I answered honestly.
He scanned me from head to toe and continued:
“You don't seem to have any particular defect… - and at once his face brighten up with enthusiasm. - I have an idea! You've got potential to really blossom in this life!”
Those words set my heart ablaze.
"Promise not to squeal to the college dean?” - He asked rather severely.
“Of cause,” - I answered fervently.
"Tonight, we all go to spend the night in a very special place - ‘A gathering of scoffers.’ There's gonna be a lot of fun: joking, frivolity, mocking and other pleasantry." He whispered in my ear: "there are many things your little tongue can do that they don't teach you in college… Yea, by the way, everyone will wear a special white raiment.”
"But I don't have one… Does it mean I can't go?” - I asked anxiously.
“No worries, - he assured me, - you can borrow one of mine. It is a great hanging out! You will love it! There is the best desert in the world, they are baking there. If we'll arrive early enough, we'll even be able to watch how they knead the dough and add all the species… This will be so tasty – you surely will leak your fingers.”
“What is so special about this desert?”
“Oh, I see that you didn't learn much in this life yet… You chew only on bread your entire life, or what? All right, I'll explain: This special desert will make your whole body juicy and vigor, it will infuse you with energy. You can get really excited, even to the point of ecstasy. And to cool you back again, there will be an ice-cream stand in the middle – leak as much as you want! Don't worry, if you'll make my raiment dirty, I can always bleach it after… There will be many wonderful activities there, - he continued, - great bodies to caress…”
I was struggling within myself: "But I don't know anybody there…"
“That's no problem either. There will be an amazing unity in that place. We will all be wrapped around each other, even soldered together for the entire night!”
My whole body was burning! I was practically glowing with enthusiasm from his charming words.
"Wow!" – I whispered in admiration.
“Hey buddy! Keep this feverish passion for tonight!” – said he and left.
I hesitated for a minute. His last words sounded rather mocking to me, but on the other hand I realized that I myself was on the brink of adopting a foreign language and foreign customs… and I swallowed them.
I could hardly wait till the evening. At a fixed hour, I saw my new friends from a far and run towards them. Rushing with enthusiasm, I took a diagonal shortcut through a field; I never went that way before. Suddenly my foot was twisted and got firmly grasped in a sharp metal trap! Trying to overcome the pain, I looked closer… To my shock, it had a form of a human heart!
I saw my friends on the other side of the field. Looking in my direction, they shook their heads, got into the car… and left. That made my pressure even more unbearable.
I had to spend my night here, in the middle of the field, desperate and miserable, waiting for someone from the college personnel to come and help me.
Suddenly a man appeared in front of me. I couldn't recognize him… It wasn't someone I met before. “Maybe he was a new college teacher,” - I thought.
“What are you doing here so late?” – He inquired.
“Are you blind?! - I grumbled back, - Can't you see I got trapped!?! My foot is clammed so strongly… I don't even know if I would be able to run again!”
“You'd better stop complaining, - he said unexpectedly. Murmuring doesn't help anybody. Didn't you study the book of Exodus last semester?”
I quieted down…
“What would help me then?”
“Keep learning, even when it gets hard. ‘Harder to learn, easier to fight’.” And he opened a familiar study book:
"Blessed is the man, who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the Law of the Lord and on His Law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree, planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."
I didn't know what to answer. He continued:
"Why do you think, those instructions are included in your study program?”
“I don't know.”
“Well, let me explain: Look at the shape of the snare that's clasping your leg. A heart, isn't it? It is your own heart that trapped you. Heart is a very dangerous wizard material inside every human. It causes you to become a customer in strange places, it entices you to make dirty deals and purchases you never intended. It can pull you into destruction before you know it. But you came to study in this college, because you chose to follow a certain way.”
“But those guys… - I interrupted, - they are also students here…"
“They only say they are. - answered the teacher, - Their hearts are not engaged in the study. Their tongue creates an outward look for them, exactly like that outward clothing, which you've got so attracted to in the first place. They don’t follow the way which is taught in our college, they insist on their own way. But just to say the right words is not enough. Without a teachable heart, instruction will be useless.”
“But how could this happen to me, then?” - I tried to defend myself.
“Your heart was idly laying out there, waiting to be engaged. They simply pushed a special button and there you were - burning in flames. Your heart is what this whole world is after. There is a real war for it. That’s why you came here to study.”
“Honestly… sometimes I get really exhausted from studies.” - I admitted.
He read again:
“'Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.’
Your own heart is your major life resource. On one hand it’s a wizard, which pushes you into dirt and destruction; on the other hand, it is a treasure that pulls you into the heights you only dream about. That’s why you need to teach it and engage it in the way you want to go.”
“How is it possible?” - I wondered.
“A meditation of the heart, - he replied. - Remember? Take your study material and make a simple melody to it. You can go around your day, chanting it to yourself… and your heart, engaged in the truth, will pull you into the highest life.
It only seems insignificant… In fact, this is also a proven strategy to win the war. Many times, the Levites went into battle before the fighters; their task was to praise the Lord and proclaim His truth in a song. A heart in tune with the truth will win every battle.
By the way, your study material contains all the strength you need. It’s a daily nourishment, like bread… Are you ready to continue?”
“Oh, yes!”- I wanted to assure him of my commitment… but he already disappeared. Suddenly a trap opened up, and I was standing alone again…
I got up and started walking towards my college, humming to myself a simple tune:
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” *