Twelve Steps Of A.a. Step Four Made A Searching And Fearless Moral Inventory Of Ourselves (1)
Tuesday November 3, 2015
What is the challenge for us as we reflect on making a searching, fearless, and moral inventory based on God’s way of life as revealed to us in the Bible?
Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living and reorder our lives under God. If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. (Lamentations 3:40; 1 John 1:8-9 MSG)
Our life in addiction was shaped by a controlling relationship with a destructive substance, a habit, a person – or, a combination of these. Our behaviour was rooted in self-absorption that was fuelled either by a desire to seek pleasure or avoid pain. At some point we began to believe that we were entitled to whatever would give us pleasure and keep pain at a distance. We became focused on ourselves and our needs to the exclusion of every other relationship. In our chosen addiction, we sought to cover the pain of broken relationships with God, with our family, and with others. We did not know how to love others in a healthy way and we believed, because of our feelings of self-rejection, that we were unlovable.
‘…no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5 MSG) When we come to God in recovery we must humbly acknowledge that we don't know how to live in relationship, either with Him or with others. We must be willing to learn what God intended for each of us when he created us. We need to learn to receive and give love. We need to allow God to take the broken person that we have become, and change us into the person He created us to be. We need to form a loving relationship with God, and by so doing, learn how to live in wholesome loving relationships with others.
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