Twelve Steps Of Aa Step Five Coming Clean About It All (1)
Thursday November 24, 2016
Step Five: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
All of us wrestle with our conscience in situations where we struggle. We may lie to ourselves and pretend that what we have done is not so bad in comparison to what others have done. We may also minimize how our conduct negatively impacted others. We may try to work hard at being good to offset the wrong we know we have done. To be at peace with ourselves, we must stop rationalizing our past behaviour, acknowledge the error of our ways, realize the hurt we’ve caused, and turn away from our destructive way of life.
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13 NIV)
When we expose the exact nature of our wrongs, we think that God will be surprised by our admission of what we have done. In the past, people treated us badly and we were frightened and wounded by their wrong doing towards us. Now, in certain situations, we seek to protect ourselves from further potential harm by being angry and threatening towards others. This forms a personality trait which keeps us at a ‘safe distance’ from the harm we fear others may cause us. Instead of turning to God for help, we try to fix the problem ourselves and end up in a worse condition than before.
For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. (Psalm 51:3-4 NKJV)
God created us to live in loving relationship with Him. All destructive and addictive behaviour is rooted in the breakdown of that relationship. Our rebellion against God is at the root of all our wrongs. When we bring our issues before God, He hears our cries for help and rescues us from all our troubles.
Heavenly Father, Our unwillingness to live in trust and surrender to You is the foundation of all our wrong doing. Only You, who are wise and mighty, know what is good for us. Today we choose to trust Your plan for our lives that gives us hope and a bright future.
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