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They Are My Classroom, Not My Problem

by Rev. Myron Jones, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

“Who is there but wishes to be free of pain? He may not yet have learned how to exchange guilt for innocence, nor realize that only in this exchange can freedom from pain be his. Yet those who have failed to learn need teaching, not attack. To attack those who have need of teaching is to fail to learn from them.” (T-14.V.5:5-8)

As I sit with this passage, I see that the Atonement is really about our shared innocence, and that the miracle is simply the recognition of guiltlessness. When I attack, I am not correcting anything; I am failing to learn. And those I am tempted to see as needing correction are actually offering me an opportunity to remember the truth.

Here is the sentence that stood out to me in this paragraph:
“To attack those who have need of teaching is to fail to learn from them.”

To accept the Atonement (God’s plan for our salvation), recognizing the innocence in everyone is what is required. Everyone. I first must acknowledge that the Atonement is needed.

There are times when I still see myself or others as guilty, though the practice of the Course has lessened those times. Still, I read the news every day. I don’t read a lot, just the headlines and an occasional article, but some. And of course, since I spend time on Facebook, I see more news.

I’ve noticed a difference in this lately. Reading the news, a headline catches my attention, and maybe the first thought is a judgment. But I also notice that I acknowledge it, and then I easily let it go.

That was not always the case at all. I used to ignore those judgments, or if they felt strong to me, I would ‘try’ to let them go. In other words, I was playing lip service to guiltlessness. I didn’t want to let them go.

That does not happen anymore. This Course stuff really works! Who knew? Just joking, of course. Yes, it does work if we keep at it.

Here is why I think that at least paying lip service was helpful when I couldn’t yet do otherwise. The truth is in my mind. It is just obscured by my attention to the ego. So when I remind myself that guiltlessness is my goal, even when I am not sure that it is, I am awakening the memory that this really is true. I am awakening the memory of our Oneness.

So, reluctant compliance with our only function is a step toward it. Eventually, the effect of doing these practices encourages more enthusiasm and desire for the Atonement.

In the practice of reading the news, I discovered the strongest tendency to judge when fear was triggered. This happened often with political situations that I judged as unacceptable and so I judged harshly those who were responsible. Because of the element of fear involved, it took much longer for me to shift my thinking about this, but that occurred as well.

It did not mean that I ignored events or that I didn’t do what I could to help. But I helped everyone concerned. Not just the ones who agreed with me. I did it without making anyone guilty. It is only recently that this became an established reaction for me, and it is such a relief to be free of judgment and all the emotions that came with it.

Now here is where that sentence comes in. “To attack those who have need of teaching is to fail to learn from them.” In the world, people harm others, act selfishly at others’ expense, and make poor decisions that affect others. When we make those decisions, we are responsible for their effects, but no one is guilty. If I think they are, I have attacked them instead of teaching them. In so doing, I have failed to learn from them.

How do I teach them? Most of them I will never have contact with, and they would not be interested in my help anyway. My help comes in the form of non-judgment, and from there, I can love and support them on their journey. This is done in my mind, but that is where everything actually takes place anyway, so it is helpful.

What we learn from those we are tempted to judge is not about them at all. In noticing how I feel when I hold guilt, I learn how painful it is, and I discover that I do not have to keep it. I learn that innocence restores peace, and that attack always hurts the attacker. This is what they teach us, if we are willing to learn.

Those whom I have judged and found guilty have given me the opportunity to be free of pain. By choosing to see their innate innocence, the contrast in how I feel teaches me that living in guilt is indeed painful. They are my classroom. Not my problem. And if I fail to be helpful to them, I have missed an opportunity to heal my own mind and to put myself back on the path of Atonement.

This teaching is just as helpful in my personal relationships with family and friends. It can be just as tempting to judge in these situations and to see guilt where there is none. Maybe even more so because we have a history together. And we teach ourselves to expect certain behaviors, so we can end up judging on our expectations, whether they play out or not. The problem is the same, and so is the solution.

Jesus tells us not to arrest our sight at the body. I try to look past what the body says and does to the Self that is their reality. To the degree I am successful, I also begin to see myself in the same light.

© 2026, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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