Having had a spiritual experience as the result of this course of action, we tried to carry this message to others, especially alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
- Step 12
There may be some who think I've made a mistake or misquoted the 12th Step here, but I haven't. The above is how the 12th Step appeared in the original manuscript of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. It was later changed to the more familiar:
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Or maybe you're an addict and you can relate more to the version used by Narcotics Anonymous:
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Sex Addict?
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other sex addicts and to practice these principles in our lives.
Gambler? Overeater? I won't post all the options. The point is the original changed, and then when others saw that the spiritual process that provided a solution to the spiritual problem that had as its symptom a powerlessness to control alcohol consumption would also work when the symptom was something else we tried to fill the God-shaped hole in our lives with, they adapted the steps to make it relate to their problem and issue. And there's nothing wrong with that. The steps work precisely because they are not about alcohol....or drugs, or food, or sex, or irresponsible spending, or.....They are a process by which we have easy, step by step process to teach us how to let God enable us to deny self and serve Him. This brings recovery from a hopeless state of body, mind and spirit and heals the real disease, which is a spiritual one. Having had a spiritual experience that causes an awakening as a result of the steps or the course of action.... I love that. And I love that it hasn't changed that much. The point, the objective, is to become alive and awake spiritually. It doesn't say having gotten sober, clean, or whatever sobriety looks like or is called by whatever segment is using the steps for a particular issue. for at least x amount of days... One thing all 12 Step recovery programs have in common is that by this point, there should be a spiritual awakening that is causing us to practice the principles of surrender to God and service to Him and others in all our life and in all our affairs. Not just in our problem area or preferred cause.
And that's why I still prefer the original. It is natural that alcoholics want to help alcoholics that still suffer, and addicts want to help addicts, and over eaters want to help.... You get the idea. First, it's where you can empathize more. Your heart is naturally bent toward those who hurt in the same ways and areas that you hurt. It's also where you can most often be the most effective, because you have been in the same pit that the person you are hoping to help has been in and can say I've been where you are, and I know the way out. But while that may be the main area of focus, or what's easiest and most natural, it is most certainly not our exclusive duty. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to heal the broken hearted and set the captive free. He did exactly that, and He Himself was not lost, was not broken, was not captive.
The purpose of the spiritual program of recovery that utilizes the steps, according to the first book that used them, is to show people how to make connection with and have a relationship with God. The purpose of the steps is to wake us up spiritually so that we can be free of self and of maximum service to God and others. The purpose of Christ's coming is so that we could be given the power to become sons and daughters of God and to have relationship with Daddy. The calling is to love God and love others, laying down our lives in service as Christ did. We do not only turn over the area of our life where we see the most obvious problem. We do not admit that our issue is unmanageable, but rather that our life is. We don't see that we need God to help us quit doing whatever it is we can't quit doing. We see that we need God to restore us to sanity, to right thinking. We give Him our life and will, not our problem.
The sobriety is the sign that the healing is beginning, because the addiction is a symptom, but if that is the only symptom that is dealt with, we are still quite sick. It's the disease of self that we are truly fighting against, and that manifests in so many ways and causes so much hopelessness and misery in the world. Once we have been reborn and awakened spiritually, we, like Jesus, loving God and loving others as our guiding everything, carry the good news of hope and an answer to those who still suffer. All those who still suffer. Yes, especially to those we can be the most empathetic towards and the most help to because we've traveled their road, but also to those who we relate to only in that we know what it feels like to be hopeless without relationship with Daddy.
Today, let us not say I was only sent to the alcoholic, or the addict, or the homeless, or...... Let us remember that the message of love and relationship that fills the emptiness and brings recovery to the hopeless is for all we encounter, the broken who have found God and are not yet whole and the lost who have not yet seen the light at all. We are called to love our brothers and sisters and our enemy. We are called to serve God and others. Like Jesus, we minister to those we come across or who the Father brings into our path, not simply one particular group or another, although we may have an emphasis. Let our heart be focused on love and not on a cause.
Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.
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