Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories. “What do you make of this? A farmer planted seeds. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. “Are you listening to this? Really listening?” Matthew 13:3-9

Beware of false hopes. We who have been caught up in the folly of addiction and compulsion are very aware of let-downs. Self-inflicted hurt suffered when we let ourselves down. The pain of being let down by people, systems and organizations. Some of these built up false hope in us. Counterfeit religion and man-made theories for changing our lifestyle and overcoming our problems that appeal to our ego’s.

In contrast, The Twelve Steps suggests getting to the heart of the problems within us. Proposals that do not recommend soul-searching and innermost judgment to pronounce personal guiltiness are misleading. Not until we are convinced and confess “I have sinned” recognizing the cause and effect of our problems can we hope to find a solution.

Many of us want to be content with a surface clean-up. Others realize cleansing must include the whole being. Are we happy enough to allow God access to every area of our lives? Only when we are willing to allow Jesus to defuse our ego and thoroughly purge through our lives can we expect recovery to effectively work in our favor.