12 Steps to SerenitySample

STEP 6

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

The gospel reminds us that we are to be known by our capacity for love. The source of this love is God’s love. As we discover this source of unconditional love, we become more effective in all of our ongoing relationships.

In Step 6, we ask God to remove defects of character, and this removal requires that we die to old ways of being and acting. We must die to a false reliance on possessive and jealous human relationships. We must die to a narrow preoccupation with material wealth, power, or authority. We must die to our dependency on mood-altering chemicals or food as means of satiating spiritual needs.

The expression of the Holy Spirit within us can only be alive to the extent that we have died to our old ways. We seek to be thorough in this invocation of God’s help, for “half measures availed us nothing” (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 59).