Principle 4: Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.
Happy are the pure in heart. -Matthew 5:8
Step 5: We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. -James 5:16
Besides making amends, which happens later in recovery, admitting our shortcomings to another person can seem quite intimidating. By now you should have established a foundation of trust with your sponsor, which is crucial in order to complete this step. The questions throughout Lesson 13 will guide you toward sharing your inventory with another individual- in most cases your sponsor.
Why admit wrongs?
- Admitting our wrongs allows us to gain healing that is promised in the Bible. James 5:16 states that we are to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that we may be healed. Healing comes from confession of sins to another believer. We were not meant to live life in isolation. God created us for relationship, both with Him and with one another. Complete healing is only found when we pursue relationships.
- Admitting our wrongs helps us to gain freedom from the bondage of sin. Secrets keep us in chains, bound to our sin and shame. Admitting our sin to another person breaks those chains.
- We gain support through developing relationships with others. Baring your soul to another person forms a bond that is very strong. As you journey through recovery and continue to share your story and listen to the story of others, more relationships will form.
- Start with prayer. Ask God for transparency, humility, and courage.
- Read the Principle 4 verses in your participant’s guide.
- Keep your sharing balanced- weakness and strengths!
- Share your material from Lessons 8-11.
- End in prayer. Thank God for the work He’s already done in Your life and the work He’s going to do, and thank Him for the person sitting across from you listening to your inventory.
We love those who know the worst of us and don’t turn their faces away. -Walker Percy
Hearing this from my sponsor was exactly what I needed. I needed the assurance that no matter what I shared, she would still be there. Someday when I am a sponsor, I intend to express this same type of unconditional love to my sponsee.
The hardest parts of my inventory were spent with me reading my paper and not looking at my sponsor at all. I didn’t want to look up at her and see her reaction to what I was saying, and at times simply reading what I had written was the most I could do.
The experience of sharing things in my inventory that I had never shared before was freeing. Things that had never been brought to light before that day were finally revealed, allowing grace and healing to begin their work in my heart.
But if we confess our sins, He will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done. -1 John 1:9
