The Why

My last post was kind of a set up. It's true in its entirety, but I didn't tell you why I went to the AA meeting. Yesterday at church someone asked me why in the world I went. I didn't get a chance to give them an answer, but I know they read this, so here it is.

My experience and desire to go to the AA meeting was two fold, maybe even three fold.

First, I work with someone who has struggled with alcohol for quite some time, and has had several legal problems because of it. So in trying to relate to this person, I thought attending a meeting might give me insight to how they think about their addiction, and maybe show me how to help them.

Second, I thought it wouldn't hurt for me to experience something different. It is a blessing for the church, that we can offer the place for them to meet 6 days a week. Lives are being changed there everyday little by little, sometimes in a spiritual way, sometimes just in a way that will keep them from alcohol.

Third, this is the main reason I went. I had heard from several people (folks without an alcohol dependency) that the meetings they had the opportunity to go to with a friend, were very refreshing. Why refreshing you ask? Well for the same reasons I stated in my first post. There is a level of honesty that exists among AA members that is not seen or heard in other places. There is a common goal (a unity if you will) of being delivered from their dependency of alcohol. They have one goal in mind, and they are all committed to helping not only themselves, but others reach that goal. There is encouragement that flows almost every time someone speaks. Before each person speaks, they must state their name and the fact that they have a problem with alcohol. The first two reason I gave were enough for me to attend, however; my desire to experience this kind of atmosphere caused me to finally go.

As I sat there listening and observing REAL life, I viewed the meeting through spiritual glasses. I wondered what the church would be like if we were to admit publicly that we are sinners, (sometimes explaining what we struggle with in detail), and to do so without the fear of being judged from those who think they don't sin.

I thought about how fast we could heal hurts and relationships, if we would freely express and deal with our sin. James 5:16 tells us to "confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." Why is it so hard for us to listen to someone without judging them?

Maybe I can explain it better this way, think about this.....

Sunday comes, and you decide to go to church. Having stuggled all week with sin, you walk into church and are greeted by a brother that welcomes you with a hand shake and a smile. He asks you how your week has gone, and instead of giving him the patented "every thing's going great" line of bull, you tell him that you really struggled this week with pornography and lusting.

Instead of the expected reaction, you know "the one that makes you feel like you just fell off some pedestal and you should have kept your mouth shut because now it's going to spread like wild fire; and everyone on the face of the earth is going to look at you differently" feeling, Instead of that, you get a sincere reply from someone that recognizes that they too are a sinner and that they too fall short of the grace of God. You don't get judged, instead you get encouragement and prayer for the week to come. You get teaching and training that will help you overcome the temptation to sin again.

You are surrounded by people who are all pushing for the same goal, to be free from sin, to live their lives in a way that pleases God, and build others up instead of tearing them down.

This is why I went to the AA meeting, because I wanted to see how the church should act toward others, and how, when all are united for the same purpose, lives can be changed.

Hello my name is Chris and I am a sinner! I struggle with lying, lust, pride, greed, and anger. God please forgive me!