I mean, in a 12 step program the first step of recovery is admitting we have a problem, while every step thereafter seeks God, personally and emphatically and directly, without wavering.
Our country has a major addiction problem and we can't seem to get around the idea that it calls for us to take a moral inventory of ourselves; begging us to turn our lives over to God, realizing that there not only IS a Power greater than ourselves, but that this Power can restore us.
We all know someone who has had to seek AA. We all know someone who turned their life around by the grace of God. We all know the affects, have seen the miracles, have witnessed the strength, the faith, and love. We have seen it all around us.
We witness the grace of God working through us as well when faced with disaster; having recognized are ability to somehow, some way, find our way through the depths of despair and harm following hurricanes, fire, 9/11, tornadoes, earthquake, tsunami, flood, famine, loss of job, loss of health care, loss of security, loss of government...we find our way through it.
I find it amazing, having not gone through AA or even read the entire 12 steps before in my life, how much of the recovery -- no, scratch that -- how ALL of the recovery relies on the teachings and strength and wisdom and love of GOD! Every little bit of it!
Of course in the Bible we find,
"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33
For most of the world, reliance on a Higher Power, God, Allah, Buddha, the Cause back behind all living things, is that which sustains us. As Americans, it was our profound belief to live in a land of the free, without a government dictating what we could have, how we should live, or what we believe. We took the FREE WILL of God and capitalized on the idea ten fold as declared in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
We have free will, people; every one of us.
It's not for sale.
It can't be transferred or borrowed.
We have it inside us.
Considering this FREE WILL -- which everyone has -- can be used for good or evil, it only makes it that much more disturbing when some people or controlling body think they can take it away. We can use it individually or collectively to become addicted to something which does not serve our higher good. Or perhaps worse, we can witness it across the ocean utterly destroying the lives of innocent, loving people just like us.
What are some of the world's addictions?
Alcohol, of course
Pain Killers/Over the Counter concoctions
Street Drugs/ Marijuana, Heroin, Cocaine, Ecstasy, LSD
SEX...whole slew of issues surrounding this one
fast food
shopping
chocolate
POWER
MONEY
more POWER
more MONEY
We have free will, for the time being, to do whatever we want to do (as long as it doesn't hurt anybody, right?). And that means, even power hungry dictators, and politicians, and world leaders, and professors, and authority figures have free will too -- to use at their free will for good or for evil. And the sad truth is, some people just really like being bad.
What's more, we can't change people until they want to be changed.
Until "they" are ready for recovery, ready for the first of 12 steps and prepared to turn their life over to a loving God, we will get nowhere.
So we are living in an age that our government has fallen away from the basic principles for a long and healthy life full of vibrancy and prosperity because it is having an addiction problem. And like anyone else who has an addiction, they always think that they are under control and know what is best for not only themselves, but for you too. Yes, let's throw a little peer pressure into the mix.
The conundrum is this, it's not so much in the admission of an issue, for we've all heard the Speaker, the Administration, Gibbs, Obama, and even Bush and Clinton admit we have a problem. The first step is secure. We know we have a problem. It's seems to be the avenue of recovery where we discover the underlying, while conspicuous, issue.
The Government is addicted to all things that make it tick: Taxation. Control. Bad credit and robbing Peter to pay Paul economics. Power over how we live, what we should value or condemn. What we teach our children. How we care for our elderly. How they should punish the cost of good health and the entire industry that goes along with it. How much we live on at retirement if without a rich uncle. What religion is politically correct and which should be ridiculed. What Wall Street should earn and how Main Street should look. What looks like racial profiling and what is not. Which media outlet speaks the truth and which is propaganda. And even the very freedom to speak without the risk of being vilified or dismissed.
So it is time to hit the other 11 steps. We must turn our will and our lives over to God. We must allow God to remove all these "defects of character and shortcomings" as referred to in the 12Steps; seeking to replace them with a sound mind, a healthy body free of toxins, a grateful heart free to take its place in the world, in order to restore God's grace working productively and actively in our lives.
While the desired outcome is found in the last step in saying:
"Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to
carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our
affairs."
So, we not only fix ourselves, we begin to help others get off the crack too.
While it is not through handouts and welfare and entitlements for it has been proven over decades that these programs do not work. It is only through the realization of just one person, recognizing they have a problem and can fix themselves, we find our way through this mess we are in.
Whether that person is in Congress or in a dark alley or homeless or alone. They take one step to fulfil the pathway to recovery, and though it is only one, through faith they begin to take all steps necessary to reach their destiny; while when the arrive, they then reach out to others. And the magic continues.
And just as we are seeing today, with the chain of human interaction and discussion, reuniting in all faiths the values we share as Americans, we begin to march on Washington with posters calling upon them to clean up their act. It is happening. It is real. It has the Power and might to transform a nation once again.
It's baby steps. It's 12steps. It's one giant step for mankind.
Step out today and Make it a Good Day, G
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