Thanks to Common Faith Recovery Center
From
Dick B.
We appreciate the credit given in this site to our
research and publications and to our most popular book: www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml
THE GOOD BOOK and THE BIG BOOK 12 STEPS
Step One of Alcoholics Anonymous
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol (dependencies,
compulsive behaviors, addictions) – that our lives had become unmanageable.
The problem of alcohol and drug abuse directly impacts
almost one-third of all Americans.
Consider these facts:
- 18.5 million Americans are addicted to alcohol or abuse
it. If each of these has about four family members or close friends affected by
their alcoholism, another 74 million Americans are deeply affected (making 92.5
millions impacted heavily by alcoholism).
- Two thirds of college students under 21 reported drinking
within the past 30 days, and of these 42 percent were binge episodes involving
five or more drinks.
- Some 12 million abuse legal drugs, such as tranquilizers,
amphetamines and sleeping pills.
- Two million use cocaine weekly, over one million are
hooked on heroin.
- Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing form of
substance abuse in the U.S.
To those courageous enough to take their dependencies
seriously. Finally, “we have taken a step out of the shadows of addiction and
find ourselves shoulder-to-shoulder with millions of broken people seeking
restoration. Recovery from our compulsions cannot be found in isolation.
Alcoholism is a disease that is chronic and ultimately kills
the addict and is devastating to everyone around him. It is said that the
disease is an allergy of the body coupled with a compulsion of the mind. The
alcoholic’s life shrinks as the addiction encroaches upon every part of his
existence. He is not only sick physically and mentally, but he carries a
spiritual sickness the root of his dilemma.
The alcoholic is restless, irritable and discontented. His
life has become unmanageable in every sense until he takes the principle in
Step One seriously. The fortunate one finds in his “bottoming out a surrender
of his own power, a reprieve from unmet promises and the release of all
attempts to “control his condition.
He must repent from a life of self-centeredness and
ego-centricity. The confession of unmanageability – the humble posture of
repentance – is the powerlessness required for the spiritual healing of his
disease. He can then begin to exchange his humiliation for humility.
Step One requires total vulnerability. His condition now
begs for a Power that can do for him what he cannot do for himself. A common
prayer in use at that stage of the path was “O, God, manage me, because I
cannot manage myself.
The Big Book, in pointing us to Step Two, says; “Remember
that we deal with alcohol cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help, it is too
much for us. But there is One who has all power–that One is God. May you find
Him now!.
- Tom Thompson
Common Faith Recovery Center offers free resources that
empowers the Church and its members to effectively address addiction and
substance abuse issues through Christ. We want to help you help others through
treatment and educational resources. Please visit us at www.CommonFaithInc.org
or contact us at 909-253-0003 for more information.
Trademarks and Disclaimer: ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, A.A., and
Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Our special thanks to: Dick B., his published works and his web site,
www.dickb.com. Our gratitude for the pioneering of Dr. Dale Ryan, founder of
The National Association of Christians in Recovery, and his website,
www.nacronline.com.
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