Some years ago I was working in public education for a group of voluntary organizations. One day I found myself facing a moral dilemma: either continue working in support of decisions I felt were wrong, or uphold a deeply held conviction and quit my job. After thinking and praying over the situation for some time, I decided to follow my highest sense of right and resign.
As a result of this, I developed deep resentment toward those who I felt had forced me into the decision. This resentment began to "eat me up"; I constantly held imaginary conversations with these people and regretted that I had not appealed to the organizational boards involved. My first thoughts on waking in the morning, and the last at night, were often about this issue. I knew this was quite wrong and that I was harming myself the most, but this resentment had become an obsession.
Then about a year later, while studying the Christian Science Bible Lesson one morning, I read this beatitude of Christ Jesus, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake" (Matt. 5:11). It came to me suddenly with such spiritual clarity: I needed to bless these people I'd been resenting.
