Step # 10

"We continued to take a personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

By the time we reach Step #10, the main thought in our recovery is "continuance." We are now in the flow of living life daily in a new way. No more secrets in our life because secrets have power over us. We live life at a new level uncovering and admitting our mistakes (sin) as we go. More than just admitting our mistakes (sin), we learn from our mistakes and apply the lessons that we learn.

This truly is an new way of living.
As a believer, one of the mistakes I made was when I was wrong or had committed a sin, I went straight to God in prayer. How can this be a mistake you may be asking. Well, the mistake was I confessed my sin. I repented of my sin. I was forgiven of my sin, but I did nothing to change. Even though I did what I thought was right, my repentance was not true repentance it was merely a "get out of hell" effort on my part. It was like I had the power to cancel my own sin through this confession/forgiveness act.

In step#10 we see that a personal inventory is involved.
That means one must look not only at the behavior, but the motive for the behavior.
Motives get us in trouble a lot.
I am continually telling the men at Rapha that you can do the right thing for the wrong reason.
I ask them, "Who in here use to go to church?"
Hands will be raised all over the room.
Then I will ask, "Who in here went to church to look at the women?"
Hands will go back up.
See..
Doing the right thing...
Wrong reason.

To me, Psalm 51 is an incredible "personal inventory" written by King David.
Here was a man after God's own heart. A man who was passionate for God.
A man who had just been uncovered for having an affair with a married woman. On top of this, David had had the woman's husband killed.

In verse 1, David asks for God to have mercy on him and to blot out the stain of his sin. David asks God to give him something he truly does not deserve.....mercy.

Verse 2 finds David asking to be relieved of his guilt and his sin. Guilt is a toxic emotion that will lead us into deeper and darker places far removed from God. But remember, as Corrie Ten Boom wrote..."There is no hold so deep that God is not deeper still."

Verse 3 shows us that David did not excuse his own conduct nor did he try to cover by rationalizing it. "Hey, I'm King and I can do what I want to!"

Verse 4 is my favorite. David admits what he has done and accepts responsibility for it.
"Against you, and you alone, have I sinned. I have done what is evil in YOUR sight (not mine)."
Personal responsibility is in short supply these days in our country. Psychology has defined most as being "victims". We have latched on to this word and it has become a flag we fly when ever questioned about our behavior. "It's not my fault......I'm a victim." That is a word we use to excuse bad behavior.

Today is the day to move on in our lives and to deal with issues that have held us in place for years.
Today is the day we look to God for our deliverance and empowerment to move on.
To break free from the bondage of the past and leave the darkness of sin and our old lifestyle.

As Paul wrote in Philippians 3:
No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be,, but I am focusing all of my energies on this one thing. Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us up to heaven.

God on you....
mb