Meditations on "Inventory"

Step 5 is often a tough step to complete. With great apprehension we have made a fearless moral inventory of ourselves and now we must admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Depending on the situation we sometimes find ourselves caught up in the tension between our desire for justice or mercy.

When we begin a searching and fearless moral inventory, we often list the obvious things we know are not in keeping with God's will.

The saying "Straighten Up and Fly Right" has been around since Nat King Cole wrote and recorded a song with this title many years ago.

The 12-Step road often seems a long and winding one to us and some of us think we can reach the same destination by taking shortcuts that are more agreeable.

When we say in Step 12 that we have had a spiritual wakening, we are describing the impact we have experienced as we’ve completed the first eleven steps.

Step 10 advises us to continue to take personal inventory and, when we are wrong, promptly admit it.

In Step 7 we come to God and humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings.

It’s not surprising that living in active addiction was for years often described as having a habit.

Rudeness shows itself in our speech and actions towards others.

As we plan a time and place to draw near to God and bring our inventory of character defects before Him, we can ask God to do what is necessary in us so that they can be removed.

Step 5 of the 12-Step program of AA asks that we admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.