May 1: Confess to One Another

Your inventory is written. Now comes the part that may scare you most: reading it out loud to another person.

Step Five says we admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Three listeners. God, who already knows. You, who have been avoiding parts of it. And one more person, sitting across from you, hearing it.

That last one is where many people balk. Why can’t it just be between me and God? He’s the one who forgives.

James gives a clear answer. Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. There’s a kind of healing that only comes when another person hears the truth about you and doesn’t leave. God works through that. It’s not instead of Him. It’s one of the ways He reaches you.

Secrets kept alone have power. They whisper that if anyone really knew, they’d walk away. The only way to prove that voice wrong is to let someone know, and watch them stay.

This month is about integrity. The word comes from the same root as “integer,” a whole number. Integrity means being one person, the same inside and out, with nothing hidden in a back room.

If you use the Steps & Scripture app, Jimmy or Sarah can help you get ready: going over your inventory, praying, planning what to say. But they’ll tell you plainly that Step Five isn’t done with an AI. It’s done with a human being. A sponsor, a pastor, a priest, or a trusted person in recovery who can keep a confidence.

This month you’ll walk toward that conversation, one day at a time.

You don’t have to feel ready today. Very few people do. Readiness usually shows up somewhere around the moment you start talking, not before. For now, it’s enough to keep moving toward the appointment.

One thing today

If you haven’t yet, choose the person who will hear your Step Five. If you have, confirm the date. Write it somewhere you’ll see it every day.

A prayer

God, I’m nervous about letting someone else hear all this. You know my heart already. Give me courage to be honest with another person, and let it bring the healing You promise. Amen.

This month’s step: Step Five.

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