The gospel of Luke records that

“[Jesus told his disciples] a parable: ‘Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.’”

Teacher appreciation week is a good time to give thanks and gifts to our teachers, but the most meaningful act of appreciation can be found in our imitation of them.  After all, don’t we imitate people we truly value? As the old proverb goes, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

We often try to imitate the fashion of celebrities, e.g., in the hopes of looking like them; or the joke delivery of comics in the hopes of sounding like them; or the behavior of our peers, in order to fit in by being like them, and so on.  We generally imitate those we think are good in the ways we want to be good.  

Of course, our judgment may be off—most online influencers are frequently imitated, but rarely worthy of it.  We must be careful who we imitate.  But it is also important to distinguish imitation from other forms of copying:

If you counterfeit, you copy as closely as possible, but for a dishonest purpose.  If you mimic, you do so in a spirit of ridicule.  If you ape, you imitate with unthinking servility.

But genuine appreciation of another person is revealed in genuine imitation—and that requires a discerning mind and a humble heart.  To be sure, your teachers are not perfect—but they are all worthy of your imitation in some respects.  So, if you truly appreciate them, endeavor to be like them in the very best of ways.  Imitation, it turns out, is the sincerest form not of flattery, but of appreciation.

Have a wonderful day.