We have all been sent to Earth to receive an education. This education has a cost. The ultimate price has been paid by our Savior Jesus Christ, but we too are given opportunities to help pay not only for our own education but also for the education of our fellow brothers and sisters. When we sin and make mistakes, hopefully, we learn from them. Part of the cost of those lessons includes the remorse and Godly sorrow that we feel, as well as the efforts that we make in restitution to restore what was lost, heal what was hurt, and fix what was broken. But unfortunately, part of the financial burden of those lessons must be shared by those whom we have wronged, just as we ourselves must take on the financial burden of the lessons that others learn as they make mistakes that harm us. Now Christ already paid the ultimate price and the promise of the Plan of Salvation is that all will be made right in the end and all losses that have been incurred will be restored a hundred fold, but eventually does still leave us with a lot of time in the here and now in which the monthly payments of all of these students loans must be covered. It is unfair that many of these loans are dumped on our plate. We shouldn't have to pay the cost of other people's education, especially when the same people keep charging the same exact and very expensive class to our account. But however unfair it is that we keep footing the bill for people who can't even be bothered to show up to class or pay attention when they do and exhibit no interest in doing the homework or learning the material or passing the test and moving on to the next lesson, it is just as unfair that others must pick up our tab when we have often showed the same kinds of academic lassitude in our lessons and is is much, much more unfair that Christ had to pay the full tuition for every single student when He Himself never took out a student loan with anyone for all of the lessons that He went through. We do have this hope, though. Every cent that we have poured into the education of others will be repaid to us in full at the Final Day of Accounting. If we can only keep the long view in mind and bear with patience the costs of the student loans of others and stop enrolling ourselves in remedial resentment and revenge courses over and over to no purpose, then at the very least we can start to minimize the cost of our own student loans, and through our example, we can inspire those around us to study hard and move out of the classes that they keep charging to our account. If the price of education must be paid for each of God's children, we should consider ourselves blessed that God has given us so very many opportunities to pay it forward and make our own contributions to the perpetual education fund.
