Love and Respect for Those Being Taught

12. What was Jesus’ attitude toward his disciples?

¹² Another important quality is the proper attitude toward those whom you instruct. The Pharisees felt contempt for those who listened to Jesus. “This crowd that does not know the Law are accursed people,” they said. (John 7:49) But Jesus had deep love and respect for his disciples. He said: “I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master does. But I have called you friends, because all the things I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15) This indicated how Jesus’ disciples should carry on their teaching activity.

15. How can we show respect for our Bible students?

¹⁵ Respect for our students includes that we do not try to control their personal lives. (1 Thessalonians 4:11) For instance, we may be studying with a woman who is living with a man out of wedlock. Perhaps they have had children together. Having come to an accurate knowledge of God, the woman wants to set matters straight with Jehovah. (Hebrews 13:4) Should she marry the man or separate from him? Perhaps we strongly feel that marrying a man with little or no spiritual interest would hinder her future progress. On the other hand, we may fear for the welfare of her children and think that she would be better off marrying him. In any event, it is disrespectful and unloving to intrude into a student’s life and try to impose our own opinions in such matters. After all, she is the one who must live with the consequences of the decision. Would it not be best, then, to train such a student to use her own “perceptive powers” and decide for herself what she should do?​—Hebrews 5:14.