How Did the Alcoholic Become Spiritually Diseased Anyway?

Step we are on: Four

Page: 64

Chapter: 5 "How It Works"

Subject: Spiritual disease, resentment

Read Time: 2 mins

Good morning. Hope everyone is looking forward to a great weekend.

The co-authors answer the question, “How did we get so spiritually ill?”  Please pay close attention to this, because...miss this, and miss the whole recovery enchilada.

• What had defeated us?

Being convinced that self, manifested in various ways, was what had defeated us


 Defeat comes at the hands of "self", not liquor. Alcohol did not kick our ass -- SELF did it! 

• What do we consider?
  we considered its common manifestations.

• What is the first manifestation of our character defects we look at?
  Resentment is the "number one" offender.

“Number one” means “first”. It is the first event in the decline of our spiritual health.

Question - What is a resentment?

Answer – "Resentment," in 1938 meant,

"Strong anger or displeasure often with animosity because of real or fancied wrong, insult, etc. Indignation accompanied by ill will. 

~ The Winston Simplified Dictionary – 1938

 Knowing that resentment derives out of the Latin root words "feel" and "again" is to begin 'some' understanding and can certainly be helpful, but it does very little to convey usage of the language or an understanding of the word. 

All it really does is tell us how to say "resentment" in Latin.  

The etymology of words does not impart very much understanding of their usage or exactly what the co-authors are talking about when they use them

• What does it do to alcoholics?
  It destroys more alcoholics than anything else.

Page 64 - continued

• Where does all spiritual disease come from?
  From it stem all forms of spiritual disease,

The order is this: Resentment first, then comes spiritual disease second. It is never in the reverse order. 

While selfishness surely is the root of our troubles, it does not come before resentment. Selfishness is an outcome of resentment. Don't put the cart in front of the horse. If you do you will never know happiness.

It can be tempting to believe, “If I can only get spiritually fulfilled then I will feel better.. The I will be a better person." They believe then they will not suffer for all their anger, bitterness, and fear; that anxiety, depression, and bedeviling personal traits and conditions will fall away. It isn't true.

Only after we first get free from anger do we experience spiritual health - God-consciousness renders us resilient to resentment. We get well, physically, mentally, and spiritually. The Steps can help us do this when we follow through with them all. 

The co-authors were aware of this spiritual chronology.

Irritation, annoyance, frustration, bitterness of any kind – that bitter electric charge of emotion that you feel enter and vibrate from the inside (you know the one), happens under the stress of situations and people, even memories  - which we repress and then turn around to compensate for by being overly kind or gracious (which appear to us to be love but isn’t) or to drown out the guilt of with distractions like food, sex, gossip, exercise, racism  - even our own thoughts become obsessive diversions. 

Peace and  Love,

Danny S – RLRA

Real Live Recovered Alcoholic