Devotional Steps...Step 3

                                                             Step 4

Bible Reading: Genesis 3:6-13
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.                                                                         

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"

10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."

11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"

12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."

13 And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Genesis 3:6-13

 

 

Step 4:

We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

 

Many of us have spent our life in a state of hiding, ashamed of who we are inside. We may hide by living a double life, by using drugs or other addictions to make us feel like someone else, or by self-righteously setting ourselves above other. Step Four involves uncovering the things we have been hiding, even from ourselves.

 

After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, "they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves....The LORD God called to Adam, 'Where are you?' He replied, 'I heard you, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked'" (Genesis 3:7-10) Human beings have been covering up ever since! 

 

Jesus consistently confronted the religious leader about their hypocrisy. The work hypocrite describes a person who pretends to have virtues or qualities that he really doesn't have. One time Jesus said to these leaders, "Hypocrites! You are so careful to  clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy- full of greed and self-indulgence!...First wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become clean, too!" (Matthew 23:25-26). 

 

When the real person inside us comes out of hiding, we will have to deal with some dirt! Making this inventory is a good way to "wash the inside"; some of that washing may involve bathing our life with tears. It is only by uncovering the hidden parts of ourself that we will be able to change the outer person, including our addictive/compulsive behaviors.