May 8: Doing What Is True
It’s one thing to be honest in a meeting. It’s another to be honest at work on a Tuesday afternoon.
“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
Jesus says that people who do evil hate the light and won’t come to it, so their deeds won’t be exposed. But whoever does the truth comes to the light.
Notice the phrase: does the truth. Truth isn’t only something you say. It’s something you do.
Integrity is this month’s theme, and integrity reaches far beyond your Fifth Step conversation. It means being the same person at work as you are at church. The same person online as in person. The same person when nobody’s watching.
When you were drinking, there were probably many versions of you. The work version that held it together. The home version that fell apart. The version that told each person what they wanted to hear. Keeping all those stories straight was exhausting.
Recovery is a process of becoming one person. Step Five is a big part of it. But it shows up in small ways every day too. Calling in honestly instead of making up an excuse. Owning a mistake at work before someone else finds it. Not padding your hours. Saying “I don’t know” instead of bluffing.
These small honesties build something. Over time, people start to trust you again. You start to trust yourself.
If you use the Steps & Scripture app, your daily check-in can be a simple moment to ask yourself where you were honest today, and where you weren’t. Whether in an app or a notebook, a short daily look keeps you honest in the small things.
Doing the truth is how you come to the light, a little more each day.
Nobody becomes fully honest overnight. You’ll catch yourself in old habits. When you do, correct it quickly and move on. That’s integrity too.
One thing today
Find one small place at work or home where you’ve been shading the truth. Make it right today, quietly and simply.
A prayer
Jesus, I want to do what is true, not just say it. Help me be the same person everywhere I go. Show me the small ways I’m still hiding, and give me courage to come into the light. Amen.
Integrity is the heart of Step Five.
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