When Jesus delivered the Beatitudes to the Nephites, He said, “Blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (3 Nephi 12:8).
What exactly does it mean to see God?
And what does that have to do with our employment?
When we purify our hearts by following the commandments, seeking the Spirit in all that we do, we become more at one with God’s desires for us. And that makes it easier for us to see those around us as God would see them—we recognize that no matter their faults, there is still a spark of divinity in them. We naturally become more patient, more understanding, more empathetic, and more willing to help out.
These are valuable traits in the workplace.
One of the biggest causes of loss of production in organizations is employees who just plain don’t get along. At this point in our industrial history, there is enough technology and management thinking to solve nearly every problem. What’s left to jam the machinery is human behavior.
Think about what happens after a badly managed meeting ends. The disgruntled employees have their own meetings in the hallways—wasting valuable production time. And if they are really disgruntled, they work slower to prove their point. Most HR professionals will tell you that every problem at a company is a people problem.
So what is the answer?
It’s more than mere conflict resolution. It’s actually caring about the people we work with. And that requires us to develop Christlike attributes.
Imagine those who came to hear Jesus speak those wonderful words recorded in the Beatitudes. Where do you suppose they went when He was finished? Of course, they had to go back to work and provide for their families, keeping in mind the things they had just learned.
Be pure in heart. Be happily employed.
