“Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.” This quotation from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 494) is inscribed on the walls of many Churches of Christ, Scientist. I remember being told by a Christian Science lecturer to “stay on the divine Love side of the equation.” In other words, stay with the spiritual facts rather than dwelling on the human need. In running a family-owned retail shoe business, I learned over and over that divine Love, more than human planning, will meet the human need. 

During the Great Depression, when my father-in-law was running the company as a shoe manufacturing business, he prayed with a Christian Science practitioner over falling sales, and an original idea came to light. This idea allowed the business to transition from manufacturing to retail. It set up the company to fund retail stores and treat store managers like owners. The managers flourished when given this responsibility and accountability, and the stores were successful.

My wife and I inherited the family business when we were in our mid-twenties, putting me at the helm. The plan for my training to run the business was cut short because of my father-in-law’s unexpected passing. Some of the store managers, who had decades of experience, resented my new position.