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February 9, 2005
For many
years I worked as a Probation Officer and many of my
probationers and parolees battled with drug and alcohol
addiction or other life dominating problems. A good
number managed, by the grace of God, to get sober. Most
of these used the AA 12
steps as part of their plan to get and stay sober.
The interesting thing about the 12
steps is that none of the steps directly address the
addiction. None of the steps say anything like "We
resolved never to drink again," for example. Instead,
they use an indirect approach of admitting their powerlessness
over the addiction and turning their lives over to God.
You can summarize the 12 steps as Father Martin famously
did:
I can't do it.
God can.
I'll let him.
There is much wisdom in this approach.
The real issue is the issue of power. The addiction
is more powerful than the addict. But God is infinitely
more powerful than the addiction. So the solution for
the addict is to submit himself to God, and let God
defeat his addiction. So far, so good.
As helpful and useful as the 12 Steps
are, they are insufficient to lead someone to into God's
kingdom. Someone can get sober, but remain unsaved.
Because AA leads people to "God as we understand
Him" there is room for error. What we really need
is God as He really is, not merely God as I understand
Him. The 12 steps point us to God, but don't get us
to God. Let me illustrate. Suppose someone come from
a background of a false religion. If that person becomes
sober and retains his false understanding of God, he
is at great risk of simply exchanging one idol for another.
Getting sober is this world is ultimately of no value
if it means eternal loss in the next.
The 12 Steps are good because they
can get us sober. The Gospel
is better because it brings us into God's kingdom and
gets us sober. Sobriety is only one of many blessings
God has in store for those who turn to him in repentance
and faith. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, the
great storehouse of God's goodness is opened to us.
The Ten Steps are my humble
attempt to present the Gospel in the same format as
the 12 Steps. They are a tool to help people not only
get sober but also to find eternal life.
†
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