Not Feelings, Not Thoughts, but the Truth

One of the most notorious problems with Alcoholics Anonymous is the intense fascination with taking one's inventory, running a program, changing your behavior.

The power of man's thinking, the truth and the errors at work in a man's life, cause the greater problems for people.

Not feeling a certain way, not merely thinking good thoughts, but knowing and believing the truth -- that is the way that man breaks free.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life -- Not Bill W., not Dr. Bob, not the Twelve Steps, not the Doctor who claimed that "Acceptance is the answer to all my problems."

Jesus Christ, His Death and His Life: there we find the answer to every question, the supply for every need, the solution to every problem that plagues a man on this earth.

The program of Alcoholics Anonymous gives the impression that our feelings are out of our control.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Our thinking informs our feelings. Insecure people are easily hurt, whereas stable people cannot be offended, no matter what anyone says to them. AA does not provide security because the program does not provide a source of identity, outside of a series of steps which are never completed, can never be kept.

We are called to enter into His Truth, which informs us that everything has been prepared for us:

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2: 10)

and

"For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world." (Hebrews 4: 3)

It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. "How can I best serve Thee - Thy will (not mine) be done." These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will. (pg 85)

"Spiritual program" and "action" do not line up. If we walk in the Spirit, then we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5: 16). "Action" is the realm of self-effort, while "Spirit" is the realm of rest, in which God works through us.

We need His Spirit, not our thoughts or works:

"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

"Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." (Isaiah 58: 13-14)

We are not called to strive, but to rest and thrive, that He may live in us!

AA says: "What we really have is a daily reprieve." A daily reprieve is not what Jesus has granted us:

"For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God." (Romans 6: 10)

and

"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10: 10)

He has Finished everything for us (John 17: 4) -- He has called us to enter His rest (Hebrews 4: 11).

We do not think our way into life and love, we believe and rest on His Word, which informs our thoughts and our feelings and produces the obedience when so many in AA seek to imitate, to their hurt and frustration.