When I first walked through the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous I had no idea what to expect. Though quickly I was able to see what worked in others - a belief in and dependence upon God. As Bill once said "Would I have it? Of course I would."The Sixth Step of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is "We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." We learn through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous that alcohol is but a symptom of our true malady, our true malady is in fact self-centered fear. We are afraid we are not going to get what we want, afraid that we are going to lose what we have. Once our fears are triggered we reach for our character defects in an attempt to satiate our human instincts. The dictionary defines defect as, "the lack of something necessary for completion or perfection."
We learn in the Fourth Step of the program that it is necessary to find out what it is about us that keeps the Grace of God from our lives. It is in doing this that we discover the exact nature of our wrongs, as we make the list of our defects. In the Fifth Step of the program we confess our character defects. Then, in the Sixth Step, we are entirely ready and willing to have these defects removed.
It is our character defects that keep us from the perfection of God - from becoming the human being God created each of us to be and not the self-centered people who care only for their human desires and what they think they need in life. A person who is willing to use almost any means necessary to fulfill their desires is sick.
With all of our human flaws we can become the being God created us to be when we turn from our human nature and surrender to His will.
Written by Armand
It was my entire character that was defective. I drank as a direct result of that missing inner purpose created by fear, self-doubt, lack of trust in anyone or anything. Certainly I knew what a defect was but I didn't understand what character was and is. A sponsor told me that character was "the one thing you want to be left with when everything else you had or were is gone." Wow - I wanted that. I was willing to have my character restored/revitalized. The larger question was was I entirely willing to do the work to enable that transformation? The work, it was explained, was outlined clearly in The Big Book and in The Twelve Steps within The Book. I had to become entire ready to incorporate The Steps into my life in a way that would change my life. I became willing to become re-discovered through the presence of The Power Within me. In that process, my spirit was awakened, my heart was opened. I am the person I was created to be.
ReplyDeleteMicheal only through the surrender of self can we become the person God created us to be...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteSelf centered fear was the basis of my fifth step and the inventory revealed that. So what am I to do about it. Well I can pray for the fear and my defects of character to be removed in step 7. If I am not practicing the program they come back in all different ways, one of them being anger which is something I cannot afford. Today I have the tools of the program to help me live life in the way that God would have me and in passing this on where I can I am doing his will and get a daily reprieve.
ReplyDeleteAnne the program of Alcoholics Anonymous has in place the apparatus necessary for us to deal with the manifestation of our character defects in our behavior. You having been through the steps and by integrating them into your life in such a way that they have become your life are living proof of that...Thank you...Armand
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