Understanding The Past

Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 3:10 – 15

Step 4 - We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40

Principle 4 – Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps 4 and 5)

“Happy are the pure in heart.”

Our addictions may already have destroyed everything we’ve worked for – our family, friendships, finances – everything may be lost. Beginning recovery is like starting back at the foundation and building a whole new life. Making an inventory should help us consider what caused our losses in the first place. That way, we’ll be able to rebuild with materials that will hold up under fire.

The apostle Paul wrote, “But he who builds on the foundation must be very careful. And no one can ever lay any other real foundation than that one we already have – Jesus Christ… Everyone’s work will be put through the fire so that all can see whether or not it keeps its value, and what was really accomplished. And every workman who has built on the foundation with the right materials, and whose work still stands, will get his pay. But if the house he has built burns up, he will have a great loss. He himself will be saved, but like a man escaping through a wall of flames. (1 Corinthians 3:10, 12 – 15).

Even though Paul was referring to the final judgment, this also applies to recovery. We know that what we use in building our old way of life didn’t hold up. By doing our inventory, we can make sure that we don’t experience further loss by repeating our past patterns, which are vulnerable to destruction. When future tests come, the lasting effects of our recovery and the rewards of our new way of life will be evident to all.