4th Step
Four
07/Jun/08
It's easy to justify my own bad behavior. I was
provoked, or I had no choice, and, besides,
everyone acts that way. I can pretend that my
wrongs are right—or I can begin to deal with my
denial. This is what the Fourth Step is all
about.
It's a searching and fearless moral inventory. It can be fearless because of the spiritual foundation I have begun to develop with the first three Steps. It is moral because deals with what is right and wrong with my conduct. And it must be searching. I must push past my denial to find the truth.
I'm a human being with faults and with virtues. I need to know the real me to understand what I'm working with.
It's a searching and fearless moral inventory. It can be fearless because of the spiritual foundation I have begun to develop with the first three Steps. It is moral because deals with what is right and wrong with my conduct. And it must be searching. I must push past my denial to find the truth.
I'm a human being with faults and with virtues. I need to know the real me to understand what I'm working with.
—Anonymous
Both Sides of the Ledger
25/Apr/08
As I uncover and face my character defects, my
good qualities, the talents and gifts that God
has given me, are revealed to me. They not only
offset my faults, they are the foundation that I
have been given for growth.
It is just as self-deceptive to discount my good qualities as it is to try to justify my shortcomings. That is false humility which is just as hampering as arrogance. The purpose of examining our character, and doing it with honesty and detachment, is not to exaggerate our guilt; rather, it is to learn the the good things we have to use to begin to overcome our faults.
It is just as self-deceptive to discount my good qualities as it is to try to justify my shortcomings. That is false humility which is just as hampering as arrogance. The purpose of examining our character, and doing it with honesty and detachment, is not to exaggerate our guilt; rather, it is to learn the the good things we have to use to begin to overcome our faults.
—Anonymous
Quo Vadis?
10/Apr/08
What am I looking for in life? I may not reach
all of my goals, but I can enjoy working toward
them. I can watch myself grow, little by little.
One way to keep myself on track is to do the searching and fearless moral inventory of the Fourth Step and examine my motives. I need to understand why I do what I do and say what I say. This will help me realize the person that I am as compared to the person God wants me to be.
It is much easier to be honest with others than myself; we are all hampered to some extent by blind spots and a need to justify our own actions. Admitting my faults to myself, to God, and to another human being as suggested by the Fifth Step can give me insight not only into who I am but also who I could be.
One way to keep myself on track is to do the searching and fearless moral inventory of the Fourth Step and examine my motives. I need to understand why I do what I do and say what I say. This will help me realize the person that I am as compared to the person God wants me to be.
It is much easier to be honest with others than myself; we are all hampered to some extent by blind spots and a need to justify our own actions. Admitting my faults to myself, to God, and to another human being as suggested by the Fifth Step can give me insight not only into who I am but also who I could be.
—Anonymous