No More Deception

We are imperfect people, living in an imperfect world. Because of this we mess up. Not a day goes by where we don’t do something that falls short. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No one lives a perfect life. In our addiction we messed things up really bad. We damaged relationships, manipulated our way through life, and thought only of ourselves. When we finally get free from our addiction prison we have work to do in order to stay free. The first three steps were about admitting we are powerless, believing in a greater power, and surrendering to God. With the foundation in place we begin working, with God’s help, toward staying free from our addiction. It’s time to put in the work. It’ll be tough at times, but the reward will be worth it.

It’s time to search our hearts for our flaws and offenses. A moral inventory of ourselves. A fearless search that will reveal much about ourselves. It can be painful at times, but it will lead us to being better people. This search isn’t a one time thing. It’s an ongoing process we must do. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8). We search ourselves because we are not perfect and we have done things we shouldn’t have. If we claim we have done no wrong we deceive ourselves. Deception was a main element of our addiction. We lived our life deceiving ourselves and other people. We didn’t want to admit we were addicted to something, so we told ourselves lies in order to justify our addiction. We denied the problem existed. For this reason we must be honest with ourselves. We also deceived others in an attempt to hide our addiction and get what we wanted. We lied, cheated, and hurt others all to hide our addiction. The truth wasn’t in us. We were a walking lie. We were living a life contrary to God’s intended purpose. Now we come clean. We stop the deception.

Step 4 aids us in identifying our defects and our offenses toward ourselves and others. During our addiction the truth wasn’t in us. We were blinded to our actions by the lies we told to ourselves and others. So we engage in a fearless search of our hearts. The good news is that we now have a Helper. We have turned our lives and our will over to God. A partnership that will help us discover things about ourselves. With God’s help we can search our hearts fearlessly. This search will lead us to discovering ourselves. Some good mixed in with the bad. But learn we must if we are to remain free from our addiction. John 8:32 says, “For you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” True freedom comes from the truth. So we must learn the truth about ourselves. So be fearless in the searching of your heart. For your freedom depends on it.