Tell My Junk? No Way!

I’m teaching a class this quarter for Miami International Seminary on counseling addicts. Last night I went over the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with the class. The reaction that many had to the fourth and fifth steps was interesting.

Step Four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Step Five: Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

“That’s terrifying!” “I’m emotionally exhausted just thinking about it.” “No way would I ever do that!” “Why would anyone want to do that?”

I’ve often heard addicts say similar things. Many resist taking those steps. Some take quite a bit of convincing to get them to see value of getting all their “junk” out. But then addicts, usually, have been hiding and lying and deceiving for years. They don’t have much practice in being honest about themselves or even with themselves.

One of the reasons that many have continued to drink or use was so they wouldn’t have to face their junk. Which is precisely the point why they need to get it all out.

James wrote that we should confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). He understood the when leave hiding and live in the light that we can thrive. Doing so can set you free from a lot of baggage.

I expected people with years of experience in church and learning the Bible would understand the value of dealing with their stuff. But their reaction was no different from what I’ve typically heard from addicts. So I guess we’re not so different after all.

Hope When Life Is Hard

Life is rarely easy for very long. Trials and difficulties unrelentingly challenge our faith and peace. Some pick at us as minor annoyances, others come like a flood and overwhelm.

Often those trials come from external sources – illness invades our bodies, cars break down, jobs disappear, relationships become strained, friends turn on us. Unchecked, any of these can lead to hopelessness and despair.

But perhaps the more difficult and discouraging trials are those which come from within. Though we promise God to turn from our sin we commit the same sins all over again. We determine to be transformed yet remain the same. We resolve to be victorious but quickly fail. Brennan Manning described the experience well in his book The Ragamuffin Gospel.

"When I get honest, I admit that I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and still play games. "

What should we do when it becomes too much, when a broken world crashes down one more time, when we once again fall and fail? Many will feel like giving up. They may think, “I just can’t deal with it. I don’t want to deal with it. I’m just too tired. Quitting is so much easier.”

The Apostle Paul gave a much better answer in his first little to his friend and disciple Timothy. He told Timothy to remember that Christ Jesus is our hope. Jesus not only gives hope, he is our hope. Hope resides in his person and anyone who flees to Jesus will receive that hope as well.