Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/7/12 - Step 9 - Taking Responsibility For Our Past
"Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying,
‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’
As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the
death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways
so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel!
Why should you die? Son of man, give your people this message: The
righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn
to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if
they repent and turn from their sins. When I tell righteous people that
they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to
save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will
destroy them for their sins. And suppose I tell some wicked people that
they wil
l surely die, but then they turn
from their sins and do what is just and right. For instance, they might
give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey
my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then
they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be
brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they
will surely live." Ezekiel 33:10-16 NLT
Step 9: We made direct amends whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Many of us when we first come to Christ and into recovery not only come
from pain and suffering, we have caused pain and suffering. In order to
satisfy our habits we lied, stole, skipped out on debts, made false
promises, etc.
While the step process has made us aware of it
and usually had us asking God for forgiveness, the eighth and ninth step
put a face on that harm. We didn't just steal, we stole from SOMEBODY.
We lied too somebody. We abandoned somebody, etc.
We face our
past and take responsibility for it because once we have faced it and
owned the past, it can no longer hold us hostage. Part of taking
responsibility for our past doesn't just mean asking God for
forgiveness, we must also ask the people we've harmed for forgiveness as
well. Only we don't just apologize, we attempt to make it right. If we
stole a TV, we replace it. If we owe money, we pay it back. If we were
bad parents then we allow God to make us the best parents we can be in
the here and now. If we lied then tell the truth and we keep on telling
the truth. Whatever it is we make it right. It is more than just an
apology, we are giving evidence that God has changed our lives.
Step 9: We made direct amends whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Many of us when we first come to Christ and into recovery not only come from pain and suffering, we have caused pain and suffering. In order to satisfy our habits we lied, stole, skipped out on debts, made false promises, etc.
While the step process has made us aware of it and usually had us asking God for forgiveness, the eighth and ninth step put a face on that harm. We didn't just steal, we stole from SOMEBODY. We lied too somebody. We abandoned somebody, etc.
We face our past and take responsibility for it because once we have faced it and owned the past, it can no longer hold us hostage. Part of taking responsibility for our past doesn't just mean asking God for forgiveness, we must also ask the people we've harmed for forgiveness as well. Only we don't just apologize, we attempt to make it right. If we stole a TV, we replace it. If we owe money, we pay it back. If we were bad parents then we allow God to make us the best parents we can be in the here and now. If we lied then tell the truth and we keep on telling the truth. Whatever it is we make it right. It is more than just an apology, we are giving evidence that God has changed our lives.
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