Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Is Acceptance the answer?

I tend to challenge this deeply rooted ideas in the fellowship that simply don't hold water...
The premise that acceptance is the answer to all of my problems today is no exception. While I whole-heartily agree with the idea that if I am in the presence of God's will (read if I in his will and not my own) then absolutely all that is swirling around me is of his doing.

However, my sober experience has taught me that staying sober is the answer to all of my problems today. We as a fellowship tend to lean in the direction of causes and want work on those, acceptance being one of those things. We want to believe that if we can simply be "ok" with whatever is going on around us, then we will be able to maintain peace of mind and thus sobriety.

The flip side of this coin is that if you stay sober you will increase in understanding, your relationship with God will improve and you will gain acceptance and tolerance against your will. The trap in all of this comes when we are simply unable to accept something, and there are certain things we should not accept. Is your foundation built to withstand staying sober despite lack of accceptance? Evil exists out there, the fellowship is full of half-truths, lies and predators. As our moral and ethical belief system matures, there should be things that we simply cannot live with and we should take sober strides to help however we can. I must also say that without a firm foundation rooted in staying sober in spite of all else, we cannot persevere through the struggle that will come from this. We must not let the idea of acceptance lead us into apathy.

1 comment:

  1. I definitely agree that without a firm foundation it's almost impossible to maintain sobriety, let alone tackle the process of recovery. Also, "sobriety" and "recovery" are a life long journey and people get in trouble when they forget that. That temptation of alcohol (or drugs or whatever) is always lurking right around the corner waiting for a moment of weakness.

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