Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
Romans 12:2-3 (ESV)
12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your
mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good
and acceptable and perfect.
12:3
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each
according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
12Step.org Comments:
One thing that is so easy to have happen at any stage of the recovery process is to become arrogant, to think more of ourselves than we should. Sometimes this arrogance can come because our life seems to be going well. By the 10th step we may feel that we are "on our way". If our life has become easier, we may tend to forget the difficulties that recovery sometimes requires. These verses remind us to continue in humility, to think soberly about our capabilities and our life before God, to not over-reach beyond the gifts that God has given us. Only the Savior can save the world - not us - and we are called only to do the part that we have been given in God's plan - no more and no less. By continuing to take personal inventory, we can stay real about our strengths and weaknesses, depending upon God for our strength and remaining confident, humble and real with God and others.
Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)
2:12
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my
presence
but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling,
2:13
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
12Step.org Comments:
Here in the book of Philipians, the apostle Paul is exhorting his fellow Christians to keep working out "your own salvation with fear and trembling". The work of sanctification in Christ is a continual one, and we should be diligent to continue taking personal inventory, reflecting on our walk with Christ, and when we find that we have done something wrong that we quickly take action to admit it and, if appropriate, make amends for it. This keeps us not only from falling back into old ways of addiction, but also builds up our faith and witness in a stronger and stronger way. Then we can begin to fulfill the tasks of helping others that God longs for us to be able to do.
2 John 1:8 (ESV)
1:8
Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win
a full reward.
12Step.org Comments:
Recovery is hard work. We not only have to strive to live a normal life with all of its normal responsibilities, but we also have to continue to work the steps and be constantly vigilant against the possibility of our addictive behaviors returning to us. Here the apostle John is admonishing Christians to not lose what they have worked for. In terms of recovery, this means for us to not slip back into old addictive behaviors. It means to not lose our freedom, which we have worked so hard and diligently to gain and maintain. In order to do this, it is imperative that we continue to take personal inventory as we go through life. In this way, we can maintain the hope that we will receive a full reward in the Lord.
