The Sixth Step of Alcoholics Anonymous is, "Were entirely ready to
have God remove all these defects of character". The original draft of the Big Book used the word "willing" instead of the words "entirely ready". I found it helpful
to incorporate both into my Sixth Step, so that I had the willingness to
be entirely ready.
As an alcoholic, giving up control is awkward and strenuous - I would rather apply some sort of
cognitive therapy or behavioral modification to control my
defects. But practicing that method is like applying a band-aid to a festering
infection, it does nothing. Control of defects is not the snag, but rather that our human defects are not to exist in our behavior, as it is our
defects that are keeping us from the perfection that God seeks in us. God seeks for us to be the human being that He created us to be, thereby able to maximize our human potential.
When we are in
the will of God our human character defects, which exist only in our human nature, cannot possibly manifest themselves in our behavior.
Yes, I am willing to be entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
My thinking is that my defects can be tamed - my anger subsided, my depression turned mild, my anxieties quieted, my low self-esteem hidden - so that they have less impact on those around me, and on my life. My thinking is sickened by this disease of addiction (and all the isms that thrive under it's umbrella) which poisons not only my thought processes but completely lowers the caliber of life itself. By believing that I can discipline my kinks of character I waste energy and time in availing only temporary relief from the madness that only the delirium of "me" created. But, this is inadequate. I need more than an escape from these defects uprooted and prevalent in my nature. I must mentally and spiritually gather my weaknesses in a heap for God to remove so that I am able accept they are there, but not allow them to be in the way - in the way of a close and intimate relationship with Him. I want to live in His will, so I need to listen to Him, but I cannot hear Him when there is clutter and noise between us. I must be willing AND entirely ready to let God do what He wills must be done. Life can be lived but not adored or delighted in while carrying such burdens.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin The purpose of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is to change in an alcoholic that which it is that propels an alcoholics thought process. In the Third Step we make a decision to turn our will which is our thoughts and our life which is our behavior over to the care of God. We always think before we act. The decision, a final choice, that we make in Three is that going forward no longer will our thoughts be propelled by our human instinct but rather by the will of God. How do we receive God's will? We receive God's will through inspiration. Inspiration is defined as the thoughts of God implanted in the mind and soul of man. It isn't till the back half of the 11th Step where we are praying only for the for the knowledge of God's will for us, God's thoughts, and the power to carry that out. Our human nature will never due the will of God. Our human nature will only try to satiate our instincts. Attempting to control our human defect using our thought process can never succeed as we are trying to solve the problem with the problem. Once this becomes overwhelming we try to escape through the use of whatever we think can possibly make us feel better. The solution is a vital spiritual experience that can only occur by a willingness and a desire to abandon our nature to the will of God...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeletethe power to carry that out that we are capable of receiving the will of God.
ReplyDeleteAlso praying only for the knowledge
I intellectually knew that all my character defects had to be removed. The operational part of the Step is in making certain that I am not the remover. Hanging on to any of these defects to any degree whatsoever was loading my shoes with pebbles which would eventually cripple me. I learned that my alcoholism was, as Carl Jung wrote to Bill W, a spiritual thirst for wholeness. Wholeness will never occur if my motivation isn't pure and my willingness incomplete. For me, entirely ready to have my defects removed served as the divine platform for becoming able to receive the great Gift of Recovery in its fullness. That Gift is available to all who follow the program of recovery precisely as outlined in The Big Book of AA. This Gift has given me the ultimate gift of me as lived through The Power Within me.
ReplyDeleteMichael you wrote "the operational part of the Step is that I am not the remover" speaking in reference to our character defects. It is in the surrender of our thought process to the will of God that one becomes willing and entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. When our thoughts are propelled by the will of God through inspiration than we can't possibly manifest our defects, which will always exist at some level in our humanm nature, in our behavior...Thank you...Armand
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