April 6

Step 4: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

April 6

Scripture reading for today: Romans 3

Recently I engaged in a lengthy conversation with a person who is new to the recovery process. My new friend was adamant that a fourth step was a ridiculous waste of time. I’m familiar with this perspective – no one I know ever really embarked on this step with unbridled enthusiasm and vim, vigor and vitality. My experience is that either we prefer to pretend that we don’t have any issues to inventory OR we’re overwhelmed with the shame of our own sense of inadequacy. Either response tends to make us run from the process. But this gal that I was talking to had a different view. Here are her reasons (in no particular order of priority) for why she is in need of recovery but not in need of completing a moral inventory:
Her life is too stressful – her ex-husband is a jerk.
Her life is miserable – her children take advantage of her.
Her boss fired her – she has no clue why.
She thinks all those folks should take stock of their lives – she is FINE! (F-freaked out, I-insecure, N-neurotic, E-emotional). Hmmmm…really?

Thought for today: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:10-12, 23 NIV

Thought for tomorrow: I really don’t know my new friend well enough to know if less stress, better kids, and a friendly ex would make her life addiction free. But scripture tells me this – all of us fall short. So as long as she is distracted by the sins of her ex, her kids, her former boss, etc. how does that help her? I can relate to my friend; it’s easy for me to believe that the people in my life that “cause” me problems have sinned and fallen short. All sarcasm aside, that may be true. But it is not all of the truth. In fact, all of us, each of us, every single one of us – has issues that need addressing. Step four gives us an opportunity to consider what OUR issues are. Frankly, that lady I listened to sounded ridiculous blaming so many people for her troubles while she was the one sitting in a jail cell. Honestly, that’s how you and I sound too. It’s silly to waste our time thinking about someone else’s inevitable shortcomings when we’ve got a few of our own to acknowledge. So, go start taking ownership of YOUR stuff.

April 6
Teresa McBean