Plumb Tired? Or Plumb Tickled?

Step # 5

We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another

human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Step # 5 is the vocal, confessional part of working a program of recovery.

IT is bringing into the light all the dark secrets we have tried to hide over the years.
It is a cleaning out of our spiritual closets, getting rid of all the dusty trash that we have tried to ignore and act as if it didn't exist.

We are taking our old lifestyle and measuring it against the word of God which does not change.

Prior to our relationship with Christ, we measured our behavior by whether it simply made us feel better or not. 

We lived for feelings....
A chemically created, mood altering feeling that create a false sense of serenity so that we would not have to deal with the real world and all the problems that we had created.

A false sense of reality, if you will.

The more we used, the more the false reality became real to us.

We could rationalize our behavior....
We could justify our decisions.....
We could embrace destruction and not see it as such because of the impact the drugs and alcohol has on us.

Life is a measurement.
Every decision we make, good and bad, is weighed against what the word of God tells us.

Let me rephrase that....
Decisions of consequences fall into this category.

I don't think God is really interested in whether you eat Rice Krispies or Captain Crunch.

We read in Amos 7:7-8 - The the Lord showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was checking it with a plumb line to see if it was straight. And the Lord said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" I answered a, "A plumb line". And the Lord replied, "I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins."

The word of God is the plumb line by which we all measured.

Some might proclaim that they don't believe in such foolishness.
I might say that I don't believe in the law of gravity but that doesn't stop it from working does it?

Step # 5 is all part of the measuring process as I am moving into a new way of thinking and living. When things in our life don't measure up, we need to admit that we have a problem and begin the process of tearing down the old and be about the business of rebuilding the new and right way.

I need instruction and direction daily to keep me headed in the right direction.
Such comes from God as he leads me. 

I find it through studying God's word (Notice I didn't say reading...but studying).

I find it through praying and by listening after I finish my prayers.

I find it through hanging out with like minded people.

I find it from not trying to hide anything from anyone.
What's the old saying in recovery? You're only as sick as your secrets.

God on you....

mb