Several years ago I was passed over for a promotion. I thought I was much better qualified than the candidate selected. At first, I appreciated hearing that others were surprised that I didn't get the job, and I accepted their assurances that I got a bad deal. It didn't take long, however, to realize that such thinking was feeding many unlovely traits—pride, self-will, resentment, anger, frustration.

It took some time to quiet this army of self-righteous thoughts, but when I did, I was able to pray. A line from the Lord's Prayer came to thought: "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). I felt this was a good place to begin, allowing God's will to control my thinking. Interpreting the spiritual meaning of this line, Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health, "Enable us to know,—as in heaven, so on earth,—God is omnipotent, supreme" (p. 17). I saw that, since my loving Father was in supreme control of my life, I could never be separated from Him or from His will for me.

As I prayed, the words "highest and best use" came to mind. I recognized the phrase as one used in real estate to describe how the value of property is determined. Two lots of ground, for example, may appear identical; but if one is in a locale with no amenities and the other in town on a busy intersection, they are considered to have different values. Price is determined by the most prosperous use that could be made of the property. I realized that the worth our loving, wise Father sees in His children is changeless, the highest and best at every moment. I began to realize that there is no competition in God's creation.

As a Christian disciple, it was up to me to make sure I was progressing in my understanding of God and man, and in my obedience to God and His laws. As I did so, surely I would be fit for more useful work in His vineyard. Put another way—if I was not progressing as I thought I should, I had only to look to myself and my level of spiritual development to find the reason. As this new concept of the true qualification for progress dawned on me, I realized that I had some work to do on my own spiritual development.

What a relief to begin to understand that there is no competition in God's kingdom! Our Father is a God of infinite abundance, a good God who does indeed know how to give good gifts to His children (see Matt. 7:11). He does not set them at war with one another to receive His blessings. Each one of us is His loved child, brought forth to glorify Him through reflecting His perfection. This is His purpose for each of us, and He is forever supplying us with all we need to fulfill that purpose. We each are wanted, needed, and equipped for our unique role of expressing God. We never have to compete for our right place or mission, and it's heartening to understand that no one else can ever fill our shoes or usurp our place.

The world, however, has accepted a view of man very different from that revealed in Christ Jesus' teachings. It is this distorted view that tempts us to believe that we must engage in fiercely competitive practices to succeed. For example, the suggestion that good is limited would have us believe that there are few good positions, salaries, locations, partners, opportunities—and we must compete to get the best. In the business world, this is such a commonly accepted philosophy that many would consider it naive to challenge it. Are we wrong to want the best or to desire to provide well for ourselves and our families? Of course not! But the notion that we must compete because there is not enough good for everyone, is wrong. The Bible shows us that God is infinite Spirit, who created all out of His abundance and pronounced it good. Man includes this spiritual supply; he need not beg, maneuver, or push another aside to receive it. God maintains what He ordains. As we pray to understand our true nature and worth as God's reflection, never out of place, we will see we can never be without His provision.

What a joy to be freed from the false responsibility of believing that we are the source for good for ourselves, our work, and our loved ones. This is not to imply that we have nothing to do. In Miscellaneous Writings, Mrs. Eddy describes God's provision for us in this way: "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies" (p. 307). We must do our part. It is our job to pray for direction, to listen, and then to act as directed and inspired by the spiritual ideas we receive. As our motive is elevated to obedience to God, we will be led to glorify Him in all we do. This increased spirituality also brings more integrity and wisdom to our business practices and makes our efforts more effective.

Another misconception built into a harshly competitive approach is that we have to attain high-level positions to have our worth recognized by others—and even to assure ourselves that we're doing well. With so few places at the top, it seems the only way to get there is to push ourselves forward. It's natural to want to be progressive. But what motives lie behind our efforts? Do we simply want prestige or more privileges? Or are we willing to be humbly obedient to God and to serve Him? This means a readiness to lay aside personal ambition, human planning, and goals that result in the mere attainment of things or titles. Is the approval of others worth working for? Or might it not be much more in our own interest to seek God's approval? The Bible urges, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15). Are we afraid God doesn't know what will make us happy or that His will for us is one of dullness and asceticism? Then we aren't yet well acquainted with our true, all-knowing, all-loving Father, whose only will for us is perfection and joy. Learning more of Him, we come to trust Him unquestioningly and can confidently ask for His guidance in our careers.

Apparently the desire to measure worth by what someone else is doing isn't a new temptation. Even the disciple Peter was rebuked for it! Christ Jesus, after his resurrection, thrice commissioned Peter to carry on the work of healing and teaching. He told Peter, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:17). When Peter asked what another of the disciples was supposed to do, Jesus responded with this rebuke: "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me" (John 21:22). It seems that Jesus might have been telling Peter to measure his success by how well he filled his own appointed mission, rather than how he looked when compared to another.

How can we break free of the world's limited view of purpose and worth and see more of God's good expressed in our experience? It may take deep soul-searching and prayer. Do we really want to be led by the Father? Or do we want Him to improve and enrich our own willful plan for our lives? When we can honestly answer that God's will for us is the only direction we want to take, we can humbly ask Him to show us what to do and then express the control that obedience to God gives in our lives.

Sometimes we need preparation for the work we can do on God's behalf. Encouraging our trust in Him, Mrs. Eddy states in Miscellaneous Writings: "When a hungry heart petitions the divine Father-Mother God for bread, it is not given a stone,—but more grace, obedience, and love. If this heart, humble and trustful, faithfully asks divine Love to feed it with the bread of heaven, health, holiness, it will be conformed to a fitness to receive the answer to its desire; then will flow into it the 'river of His pleasure,' the tributary of divine Love, and great growth in Christian Science will follow,—even that joy which finds one's own in another's good" (p. 127). We are not in competition with others for God's attention when we humbly petition the Father. No one can prevent anyone else from seeking and finding his or her God-mandated purpose, and no one can prevent us or anyone else from fulfilling that purpose.