Breaking Ground
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? Why?
The Dig
This Sunday, we continued our series 12 Words, in which we’re using the 12 Step Program as a tool for experiencing Christlike transformation. In particular, we dove into Step 6: “We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character” & the spiritual principle of release.
Read Philippians 3:1-3. Here, Paul warns against those who define spirituality by human effort & self-will. In particular, he focuses on people who put their confidence in the flesh; which, in the New Testament, can be understood as human ego (the identity that we create for ourselves that’s defined by our external accomplishments, persona, power, status, comparisons, self-centeredness, & superiority over others).
What is the inherent danger of blending ego with religion? Why is this antithetical to the vision & purpose of Christian spirituality?
Next, read Philippians 3:4-14. Here, Paul lays out his own ego accomplishments, only to label them as garbage & worthless barriers to what really matters in life & faith.
How did Paul’s life story change how he understood his past, ego-driven pursuits; which had previously defined his identity, worth, meaning, & purpose? How does he understand his identity, worth, meaning, & purpose in the present?
Ultimately, Paul concludes with a description of transformation defined by us reaching towards Jesus; while, simultaneously, Jesus embraces us (which mirrors Step 6’s own paradoxical understanding of transformation). Both recognize that, despite being necessary early in our lives, these character defects born of our ego must be released for us to heal & experience abundant life. However, doing so, paradoxically, requires us to both work to become fully willing to let them go; while, simultaneously, acknowledging that only God can actually remove them.
Why is releasing these parts of ourselves so hard, even when they’re clearly holding us back? Why does releasing them require both preparation on our part & an utter reliance upon a power greater than ourselves to do the actual healing?
What character defects have you relied upon for identity, worth meaning, & purpose in the past? Have you seen them shrink over the years? What led you to change your posture towards them (if you have)?
What character defects do you find yourself most often putting your confidence in now for things like identity, worth, meaning, & purpose? How is this impacting your internal & external worlds?
How might embracing Step 6 & Paul’s paradoxical vision of life change help you release these character defects? What tangible steps of preparation can you take in order to start fully surrendering them to God for healing?
Getting Out of the Hole
In this series, take time each week to reflect upon the Step & Word that we covered in the Sunday sermon.
- Reflect on this step & word. Based upon your work in Steps 4 & 5, what are your character defects? If you need help identifying them, then try reflecting on your resentments & past harms, while looking for the forest instead of the trees. That is, the larger patterns of broken emotional responses, attitudes, thoughts, actions, or behaviors (selfishness, judgmentalism, self-centeredness, anger, control, fear, etc).
- How have these larger character defects, or patterns, impacted you & your relational world?
- Ask yourself: Are you ready to actually let these crutches go? If not, then why not? How can you start becoming ready?
- Write down your top 5 character defects. Take time this week to pray to God & ask Him to help you develop the willingness to release them.
Additional Resources*
TheBibleProject.com
Breathing Under Water by Richard Rohr
The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous by Bill W
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
Coming Up This Week:*
Sunday, June 22nd: Join us next Sunday as we continue our series 12 Words!
* Please see mye3.org for details.