T-4.II – The Devoted Teacher (paragraphs 1 – 13)

April 2, 2021

This is a continuation of material that started in Chapter 3 about Bills’ fear of teaching.  A major theme of the early text is the authorship and authority of God.  It starts on page 1: “God is the giver of life” (T-1.3.4:1).  This current section opens by saying that fear and sickness, and any “human symptom” has the same root cause: the authority problem. We hold on to the belief in self-creation and this produces a self-concept (T-3.XI.7). The belief that we are self created is the ego, an idea that opposes spirit – our true reality.  This conflict over spirit-identification and ego-identification is the cause of the teacher’s fear of teaching.  

If a teacher is to teach, he must first identify with and believe in the ideas he professes.  He must have his own conviction in them first before offering them to the student.  Bill is identified here as a “nonspeaking speaker” or a “nonprofessing professor” because he is fearful of teaching. He is fearful that his teaching will increase his separation from others. In other words, teaching causes Bill separation anxiety. In Bill’s mind, if he excels at teaching – meaning that he really impresses his audience – they will exalt him, thereby enlarging his ego, this will create further separation between he and them, and is therefore feared. On the other hand, if he fails at teaching, then his anxiety will be lessened but “at the cost of depression (12:5).  

The solution to this dilemma is not side with any image maker, whether they attempt to exalt or depreciate you. Jesus says,  

“I am constantly being perceived as a teacher to be either exalted or rejected, but I do not accept either perception for myself” (13:2).  

When we teach from a spirit-identification we are being a channel for spirit. Our worth does not change by what we speak or do but our perception does improve. The ego begins to fade away under the light of the spirit (7:3).  This section is teaching us that by claiming the teaching role we can absolve our ego-identification.  In fact, a successful teacher is one who conveys the truth of his thought system so clearly that the pupil or patient no longer needs the teacher (10:5).  

“Every good teacher hopes to give his students so much of his own thinking that they will one day no longer need him. This is the one real goal of the parent, teacher or therapist” (9:1-2). 

The solution to Bill’s fear of teaching is to learn the thought system he is professing and then to profess it.  As we saw in the related notes yesterday (Bill’s Class), Bill was uniquely qualified to teach ego psychology from the right frame of mind. Bill’s fear of exaltation or rejection are resolved by going out to teach.  

The egotistical teacher is one who holds back from the role by fearing either exaltation or rejection.  Jesus says the ego has one goal either way: it wants to preserve itself.  “This is no less true if he is afraid to teach than if he is frankly out to dominate” (11:3).  The devoted teacher, on the other hand, is one who does not worry about the effects of others perception of him, or the effects his personality will have on the students (11:2).   

Our goal is to become devoted teachers, just as Jesus was in his lifetime and continues to be for us now. 

Suggested Practice: 

I renounce the role of guardian of my thought system and open it up to Jesus for his correction, and to lead me home.