The god factor in recovery
Many people believe that the best way to achieve recovery from addictive illnesses is through becoming a part of a twelve step recovery program, such as AA, NA, CA and so forth. All twelve step programs stress the need for acceptance of some power greater than we are. A lot of people addicted to alcohol and/or drugs, may have believed in God, but most seldom thought about what that word "God" meant to them. Perhaps they believed that God was a Supreme Being of some sort who lived somewhere in the heavens and who had started our Universe in motion. However, for the most part, God had no personal relationship with them.
If addicts thought about it at all, they likely felt they were not worthy to receive any notice from God. Therefore during their drinking (or drugging) years, when it may never have occurred to them to pray to God to help them stop drinking, they might very well have thought that God would not care enough about them to want to help. Or perhaps they had stopped believing in God at all, or had never believed. It can therefore be upsetting when people join AA and find that the steps often talk about God.
Usually, working the steps will very gradually change their conception of God. In fact, though the program talks about a Higher Power who some choose to call God, it is entirely possible for those in recovery to avoid the word "God" entirely if they prefer. They might think of the God as standing for Good Orderly Direction, or perhaps the Group of Drunks who sit around the circles in AA.
For women in the program, the connotation of God as essentially masculine may present difficulties, especially if they have had abusive relationships with their earthly father. They might find it helpful to focus on seeking and utilizing the feminine aspects of God. Some program people prefer to use the word "Spirit" or "Great Creator" which speaks to them of a force or energy without form that is androgynous in nature. Each individual needs only to believe in a power greater than they are, and they are free to choose whatever name or idea they might want when referring to that being.
It is nothing short of miraculous that the early founders of AA suspected that they needed to be careful in their use of the word "God" and used instead the phrase "God as we understand Him" so as to broaden the doors of recovery. That said, many recovering people will admit that they do not "understand" God, but they nevertheless usually come to accept His or Her help in their recovery. They come to depend on a power that exists not only beyond the Universe, but at the same time exists and resides within them.
One gentleman who had been in recovery for many years put it this way, "I will probably never understand God, but I simply know I'm not Him." This, after all, is all that is required. No one has to believe in God in order to recover. They simply need to be able to put their faith and dependence on some power greater than they are so they no longer feel required to do everything on their own.
If addicts thought about it at all, they likely felt they were not worthy to receive any notice from God. Therefore during their drinking (or drugging) years, when it may never have occurred to them to pray to God to help them stop drinking, they might very well have thought that God would not care enough about them to want to help. Or perhaps they had stopped believing in God at all, or had never believed. It can therefore be upsetting when people join AA and find that the steps often talk about God.
Usually, working the steps will very gradually change their conception of God. In fact, though the program talks about a Higher Power who some choose to call God, it is entirely possible for those in recovery to avoid the word "God" entirely if they prefer. They might think of the God as standing for Good Orderly Direction, or perhaps the Group of Drunks who sit around the circles in AA.
For women in the program, the connotation of God as essentially masculine may present difficulties, especially if they have had abusive relationships with their earthly father. They might find it helpful to focus on seeking and utilizing the feminine aspects of God. Some program people prefer to use the word "Spirit" or "Great Creator" which speaks to them of a force or energy without form that is androgynous in nature. Each individual needs only to believe in a power greater than they are, and they are free to choose whatever name or idea they might want when referring to that being.
It is nothing short of miraculous that the early founders of AA suspected that they needed to be careful in their use of the word "God" and used instead the phrase "God as we understand Him" so as to broaden the doors of recovery. That said, many recovering people will admit that they do not "understand" God, but they nevertheless usually come to accept His or Her help in their recovery. They come to depend on a power that exists not only beyond the Universe, but at the same time exists and resides within them.
One gentleman who had been in recovery for many years put it this way, "I will probably never understand God, but I simply know I'm not Him." This, after all, is all that is required. No one has to believe in God in order to recover. They simply need to be able to put their faith and dependence on some power greater than they are so they no longer feel required to do everything on their own.
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