Article October 28, 2019 Issue

How a workplace trial proved God’s care

Margaret Connor Pereira

I work as a senior advisor to several different account teams at a marketing communications boutique. One of my teams had worked together congenially for a year when, out of the blue, a team member began to act hostilely toward me. What began as subtle snubs escalated to chronic verbal bullying. Our small company has no human resources department where one can file a formal complaint. As unsettling as the situation was, however, I felt confident it could be resolved through prayer, since I’ve witnessed many healings of discordant relationships over a lifetime of studying and practicing Christian Science.

I called a Christian Science practitioner for prayerful treatment to support my own prayers, and she assured me that my only responsibility at work was to love. This might sound like a radical idea, given the circumstances. It was my responsibility to love someone who was acting so unkindly toward me? But I knew from my study of the Bible that this idea was based on Christ Jesus’ teachings, including, “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44). This would be difficult if it meant that I had to muster up this love myself, or that I needed to love another’s unloving behavior. It would also seem impossible if it meant dismissing my colleague’s actions or making excuses for the behavior. But from my study of Christian Science, I knew it didn’t mean any of these things.

Instead of feeling daunted, I felt empowered, knowing that this love comes from a divine source—God, divine Love. This source is infinite, and therefore vast and deep enough to meet even the unfair treatment I was facing. And it’s powerful—powerful enough to protect me and to dissolve hatred. By making sure my own thinking and behavior were motivated by divine Love, I could feel more of the presence of Love, no matter what was going on.

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