Made a list
of people we had harmed and became willing to make amends to the all.
The Male
Chorus, of the New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio, sings a
song that says, “I got to fix up what I messed up. I am starting my life all
over again.
The song is
an excellent prelude to understanding the mission of Step 8 of the 12 Spiritual
Principles. That mission is to make a list of all people we had harmed and
became willing to make amends to them all.
It is
amazing how many people we hurt from the beginning of our self – destructive
behavior until the moment we realize the only end to our behavior is our own
death. When we begin to emerge from the darkness of our self-destructive
pathology and begin the righteous work of our recovery to sanity and right
living, we work the steps.
We work them
thoroughly one after another because they help us put our life back together
piece by piece. All of the previous
seven steps have led to Step 8.
In Step 8,
we are ready to continue our rebuilding process. Now, we are ready to mend the many fences of
broken relationships we caused by our reckless behavior.
It is time to
prepare the list of all people we have harmed. All the people we did not tell
the truth and took advantage of must be on the list. All the people we
physically harmed must be on the list. All the people we stole from must be on
the list. All the people whose hearts we broke must be on the list.
Finally, if
we are to really going to come clean, we must sing like the men of New Salem. I
got fix up what I messed up. I am starting my life all over again.
View the
accompanying teaching video on Step 8 entitled Became Willing from the TeachingMinistry of New Eden.
