When we first encounter a recovery process for alcoholism or drug addiction, we are steeped with mental attitudes and beliefs that have built up over a lifetime of substance abuse. For many of us, our consequences have brought us to the doors of a 12-Step recovery program as the last option. We have lost control over the mind-altering substance, both physically and mentally. We have a mind that has not worked properly for a long time. That, coupled with the biological response to alcohol that was tagged years ago as an allergy, hovers over our heads ready to pounce should we drink.
The mind is a remarkable design that if programmed with truth, will yield good results. But when we have been living in an altered state of mind, due to the substance, heavily influenced by worldly attitudes of self-centeredness, it (the mind) is not capable of operating the way God intended for it. One of the most common expressions we hear from folks in recovery is “My thinking is what got me here.” But it’s not the thinking organ, often referred to as the Thinker, that is the problem. The real problem is not having truth in our beliefs and thoughts. So, in reality, it is not a good solution to try and stop thinking, because we can’t. The right solution is to change what we are thinking about. In other words, our minds need to be renewed with truth, in order to replace the beliefs and lies that got us into the dilemma we are in. Changing the beliefs and lies we have within us is not an easy task.
But everything has a beginning. If we can accept that we are indeed full of error in our thoughts and beliefs, and that they need to be changed, then there is the need for the proper foundation to build spiritual growth. That foundation is the truth, nothing but the truth. Not the truth the world shouts at us, but God’s truth. If His truth is to gain a foothold in us and begin developing a solid foundation for spiritual growth, it needs to be cemented by the right attitude. Sometimes it is necessary for this foundation to be beaten into us. That seems to be a common theme for most of us. The cause is Pride.
Pride has settled deep within us over the years, and it stands in the way of most progress. Pride speaks its own mind as “I can do this; I am the master of my own fate.” That’s the attitude that produced so much turmoil in our lives as we walked in our active alcoholism. Our first lesson in learning how to renew our beliefs, is accepting that we are powerless over alcohol. This understanding conditions us to be more responsive to change. Initially our response might be worldly sorrow (feeling sorry for ourselves for our personal consequences). The beatings brought on by these consequences will hopefully move us toward an attitude of humility. That, and an attitude of submission are the foundational attitudes that are needed to produce all true emotional and spiritual growth.
At the time the book Alcoholics Anonymous was written, long-term sobriety in the fellowship was not present. A.A. had been formed in June of 1935 and the book was published in 1939. The book itself had very little to say about Step 6 or Step 7. AA’s Step 6 states: “Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.” Having a readiness to change is beset with all kinds of difficulty for the person who does not have God. It is all about our readiness to change and our desire to place our trust and life in the providence of God. For this reason, it is often said that Step 6 “separates the men from the boys.” And without humility, we are unable to do Step 7 which is states: “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.” The entire attitude found in Step 7 is humility. Yet, no one had any experience with the process of how to remove the defects that block us from a true relationship with our Creator. The book was weak in that understanding.
However, by the 1950s, it was clear that sobriety is far more than just not drinking alcohol. And co-founder, Bill Wilson, decided a deeper explanation was needed. The book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions contains 12 essays written by Bill Wilson, that expands upon each Step in the A.A. program of recovery. Originally published in the Grapevine in 1952, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions is used today by A.A. members and other 12-Step groups worldwide. In the essay on Step 7, we find some very gut-wrenching truths about our powerlessness over defects of character. We find this on page 72:
That basic ingredient of all humility, a DESIRE to seek and do God’s will, was missing. For us, the process of gaining a new perspective was unbelievably painful. It was only by repeated humiliations that we were forced to learn something about humility. It was only at the end of a long road, marked by successive defeats and humiliations, and the final crushing of our self-sufficiency, that we began to feel humility as something more than a condition of groveling despair.
The key to understanding humility is to understand the underlying desire. Bad consequences from bad thinking are sometimes needed to beat us into submission to change.” The consequences stimulate the desire to change the way we think. It was that way for accepting our powerlessness over alcohol and it is that way for all defects of character. It is not until we experience the built-in consequences, and the pain reaches a level that invokes enough desire to actually make a change in our thinking and actions, do we submit to our need to change. Alcohol is the main offender for us alcoholic-prone folks. But when alcohol is removed the underlying defects, driven by the attitude “I can do this; I am the master of my own fate,” become obvious to warrant needed change. For many of us in 12-Step programs, these changes are difficult. The consequences are often necessary to create the desire to change. There should be an easier way to create this desire.
And there is. But the 12-Step program must be applied with the same ingredients as practiced by the founding members of A.A. The process practiced by many members of today’s program has a missing ingredient. And that ingredient is not having a true God. A self-conceived notion of a higher power, which has only the power of the person himself, is not enough. Why is this important? It’s pretty simple. Without having the true God, the attitude of humility is nil. One may believe they have humility and practice doing those things that outwardly look like unselfishness, but their underlying motives are still self-centeredness.
This is not to say that some folks do not have an altruistic attitude. But studies have shown that even when we’re being “selfless” we are serving our own interests. True humility comes from a true desire to do God’s Will and not ours. Our human nature is unable to do this without the presence of the Holy Spirit of God living within us. This necessary ingredient enables us to do what God wants and not what our self-centered nature wants. This is the real spiritual path of the Christian. It’s a lifetime of walking toward spiritual maturity. To become spiritually mature will require constant renewing of the mind while acquiring and maintaining the foundational biblical attitudes of submission to God’s Will and real humility. To emphasize, we cannot do this without the indwelling help of the Holy Spirit.
Humility and surrender or submission to God is needed to accomplish a meaningful Step 3, where we turn our will and our life over to the care of God. If we have the wrong understanding of who God is, it is a difficult step. After all, we can only grow spiritually to the level of our understanding of God. We may need to prime the pump. It comes back to desire. Our desire is primed by the suffering brought about by our own decisions to do it our way. That’s the hard way. But our Creator, God, has made a way to help us. He actually provides us with a helper to motivate our desires, but its conditional.
We need to be born again to have the Holy Spirit in us. The right desires can only come from a new heart and a new spirit. A “new heart” and “new spirit” is the promise of spiritual regeneration. This is the promise given to God’s people way back in Old Testament times. In Ezekiel 36:26-27 NIV we find this promise “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” This defines the ingredients we need to do God’s Will and to grow spiritually.
Jesus reinforces this promise of regeneration when He spoke to Nicodemus one night in Jerusalem. To this upright, moral, spiritually sensitive man Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus then asked, “How can a man be born again when he is old?” Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The apostle Paul also tells us “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV).
The Holy Spirit changes our heart to cause us to “follow” the Lord. The Spirit enables and creates the desire in our heart to do what is humanly impossible. The only way to live a life pleasing to the Lord is by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). Without this we are simply practicing principles in our own strength. That will only bring mediocre results. Do you believe in God or do you believe God. The difference between “believing in God” and “believing God” is significant. Here’s why. “Believing in God” means that one is convinced of His existence – that God is real rather than a mere myth or legend. On the other hand, “believing God” is living in faith to trust and obey Him. That’s true faith. His Word is found in the Bible. That’s the only path that will lead to real spirituality.
With the right foundational attitudes, we can embrace what Paul the Apostle told us in the biblical book of Romans. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 NIV). For a Christian, this translates to interpreting life through the lens of God’s Word and the internal inspiration of the Holy Spirit, rather than through the lens of our own personal experience or the opinions of others in the world. It is a day at a time of choosing the mind of Christ, which lives inside of us as new creations, rather than operating the way we did before we were saved. True spiritual growth and growth in the mind of Christ mean the same thing. There is no other way. All other definitions of spiritual growth are lies.
Where are you in your spiritual walk? Are you still banging your head against the wall of self-sufficiency? Are you reading the bigger book, the Word of God? If not, you might want to prime your attitude by reading the book Eternal Sobriety. It’s a book specifically written to help the individual in 12-Step programs find the real truth about God.
Click this link for a complete topical view. Book Content – ETERNAL SOBRIETY