Article November 10, 1997 Issue

Reconciliation in the workplace

Doug Brown

There are two sides in a court case, usually at least two candidates in an election, and many different ideologies and spokespeople for them. In a family discussion, there may be a parent's view versus a child's view; in international negotiation, there can be one nation's choice versus several others'. It's been said, Walk a mile in another's moccasins before saying there is only one way to look at an issue.

As important as such empathy may be, there is an even more vital viewpoint to consider: "I'm going to love no matter what. Whatever another person thinks, whatever that country does, whatever the jury decides, no matter who is elected, no matter how that child acts—I'm not going to move from loving my neighbor." This is a healing standpoint that acknowledges the importance of letting love govern our thoughts and actions.

There was a time when I had prayed a lot about an employee relationship that had soured and been terminated. But despite prayer, I still imagined scenes in which I confronted the employee, exposing his faults. Toward the end of that same year, it turned out that one of my company's customers had become dissatisfied with me and our services, and had written colleagues to inquire about any other problems they had had with us. The customer wanted to expose our faults.

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