The Beginnings of a Way of Life! (Part 7)

Steps to the Spirit

This episode is about a list of four items that I discovered as I was reading some information about the Oxford group. It is a list of four, I guess you might call them “ideas”, that I think is the most comprehensive and straightforward list of all of the lists in the Oxford group.

This list is not included in the chart that you can find in my description of episode 24. The list is:

The 4 Absolutes
1. Honesty

2. Purity

3. Unselfishness

4. Love

When I first saw this list, I thought, “Wow! This is a list of the ingredients that I would like to have in order to define my life.” I believe they really include everything that is in all of the other lists. As a matter of fact, I believe they sum up all of the ideas that are in the 12 step program.

Number 1 is “Honesty”. The idea of honesty, I believe, overrides all of the 12 steps in some form or another. It may be honesty with myself, honesty with another, honesty with God, or any combination of these. For some reason the movie, Liar, Liar comes to mind. The star, who I seem to remember as Jim Carrey, became unable to tell a lie. I would like my life to become more one of a person that and more one of a person who needs to be honest at all times. I’m not sure how this affects a feeling that I need to lie in order to protect another. I think that will be addressed in the 4th part of this list.

Number 2 on the list is “Purity”. My sense of purity that is meant by the word in this list is that which comes from our Spirit I believe it means that I should try to be pure in thought, and pure in my actions. Please remember that I also believe one of the operative words in that sentence is to try. I firmly believe that over time, after I say “yes” to God, I will find a greater and greater ability to follow through on these Four Absolutes.

Absolute number 3 is “Unselfishness”. Quite often I find that when I experience something good or wonderful, I want to share it with someone else. (Of course, the urge to share something terrible or evil that might happen to me is a subject for different podcast). As I become more and more involved in these 12 steps, and I slowly begin to change and experience a new way of life, I find that it is a mandate from my Spirit to share “this good news” with others. Notice it is similar to the term corporate that is used in the Christian New Testament. I believe that that is because it was the news of a saving God, and available to each of us by living our lives like the example provided by the life of Jesus. I further believe that these 12 steps provide us with an outline for living that very same life.

Absolute number 4 is “Love”.

It is interesting to me that it does not say to love one another or to love ourselves, or to love our neighbor as ourselves, as is written in the New Testament. It is simply the word Love. All I want to say about this right now, in this description, is to share with you the definition of love that I have adapted for my life. It is as follows:

Love is wanting to do for the good of another.

My Holy Spirit constantly provides me with all of the strength and direction with which to accomplish this definition in my life. Anytime I choose not to consider the needs of another before my own needs, (which happens more often than I care to admit), it is usually do to my incorrect, spirit-overwriting, human rationalization. This does not happen beyond my control, nor am I unable to change it. No matter what, I always have my God-given power of free choice. The more I learn to listen to my Spirit, and remember the kind of life I am trying to lead, I shall make the right choice.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the podcast.