Working together
Our office was a small one, just two salesmen and two secretaries. Somehow we had reached the point where we were taking sides. Friendly competition turned into intense rivalry as each salesman sought to make his quota. Feelings were running so high that the quality of our work was deteriorating. The atmosphere was tense and bitter.
One of the secretaries started to pray about the problem. She recalled Christ Jesus' words, ''A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another.'' n 1 She reasoned that divine Love, God, is always present, and that omnipotent Love is reflected by every individual in its creation. Because God is the Father of all, His children are united in love and understanding. This is the spiritual truth of being, and because it's the truth, established by God, we can fulfill Christ Jesus' commandment to love each other.
n1 John 13:34.
Shortly after this, one of the staff had an idea that would greatly benefit the company. Because of deadlines there was only one way it could be accomplished - all four of us would have to drop everything and pull together to get out a big mailing. We agreed to do this, and worked harder together than we'd ever worked before. There was a great feeling of camaraderie, even under tremendous pressure. The job was done, and the results far exceeded our hopes, bringing credit to everyone involved. This working together broke the mesmerism of division, and a happy unity existed among the four of us from that time on.
Working together certainly gets results, but what is it that creates division? In our office it was jealousy and fear. It was a lack of recognition that we were all striving for a common goal, all governed by one God.
Whether you're part of an office group, a family, a school class, or whatever , it's important to see that you're not truly a mortal, struggling along with other mortals, each of you pulling in a different direction. Man is God's immortal offspring, under His jurisdiction alone. And because God is infinite, He is the only genuine Mind, reflected by each of His children. In truth, then, there cannot be a jealous or a fearful mind. To express intelligence, inspiration, and accuracy is to reflect Mind, the supreme intelligence, thereby glorifying Him. Mortal self-glorification doesn't do anything for us. It never truly satisfies and is open to the fallacies and disappointments that the belief of personal ability brings.
To love, as Jesus loved, strengthens the individual, and therefore the business operation. Love recognizes the Godlike qualities in another (they're there even if we have to search for them!) and refuses to acknowledge as valid anything that could not have its origin in God, such as apathy, selfishness, or inaccuracy. The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, writes: ''Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action.'' n2
n2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 454.
Our Father-Mother God unites us all in love, and He is giving to each one talents and abilities that are unique and beautiful. Under His loving guidance not one individual can be deprived, or need fear being pushed out. Each has a special place to fill. Bitter competition yields to the recognition that every individual, in reality, is an expression of God, of divine intelligence, and is inseparable from His blessings.
It's important to work for unity in our own immediate circumstances, because unity among individuals is the basis of national unity. And when the nation is in harmony, it is in a better position to help unify the world. Often the greatest contribution to be made in any group situation is this spiritual perception of the unity of man, ever under the shepherding care of divine Love. DAILY BIBLE VERSE I . . . beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3