The Bible Speaks to You December 13, 1969 Issue

[The above is an abbreviated, postproduction text of the program released for broadcast the week of December 5-11 in the radio series, "The Bible Speaks to You. Heard internationally over more than 1,000 stations, the weekly programs are prepared and produced by the Christian Science Committee on Publication, 107 Falmouth Street, Boston, Massachusetts, U. S. A. 02115.]

RADIO PROGRAM NO. 401 - Doing Something About Clashes at Work

with contributions from Michael Thorneloe, George Richards

[The speaker is Michael Thorneloe. The questioner is George Richards.]

Questioner: Personality clashes at work are hard on everyone. It's bad enough not to get along with someone we see infrequently, but to have run-ins with an individual who has authority over us on the job is really challenging.
Speaker: Yes, indeed. I know how frustrating this can be, particularly for a young person at work or in military service. One thing that's helped me do something about these personality clashes at work is to gain a higher understanding of what our true work really is.
Questioner: I was in a situation where I had a personality clash with the boss. I didn't think it was my fault, because I had worked at exactly the same kind of job on the same kind of assignment with another man and we got along perfectly. Now, this sounds very typical, doesn't it? It's never our fault!
Speaker: We have to find out what we're really working for. It's much more than people. Now Christ Jesus, when he was only twelve, said (Luke 2:49), "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" And as you know, Jesus dedicated himself to unselfish service to mankind under his Father's direction. In a very real sense he acknowledged God as his true employer. He said (John 5:17), "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." He also said (John 15:12), "Love one another, as I have loved you."

We can see how he encouraged his followers to guard against letting hatred, bitterness, or selfishness obscure their true mission of blessing all mankind. This view of our work, striving to let God, divine Love, rule our motives and our lives, gives us an entirely different view of our own worth and that of our co-workers.
Questioner: But although a person might want to view those around him in such a favorable light, he might easily feel that somebody he works with is not that good.
Speaker: What we're talking about certainly demands looking beyond outward appearances. From surface appearances not many of us are very inspiring. But Jesus looked beyond a limited, material concept of man to see him as God really made and knows him—as the beloved likeness of God, the one Father, the one supreme authority. Now, we need to know ourselves and others as created and governed by divine Love, that all creation, including man, is held in the embrace of ever-present, all-powerful, unchanging, impartial, universal Love.