The Foundation of Twelve Step Theology

unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 2 Timothy 3:3 NASB

Without self-control – “Hello. My name is Skip and I’m an addict. I admit that I am powerless over ­­­­_________.” Such is the typical introduction in a Twelve Step group. Paul would approve, but with one caveat. The word Paul chooses is akrates, that is, the negative (notice the alpha) of kratos, a Greek word that means “dominion, might, power, strength.” To lack self-control is to lack power, might or strength. The caveat is that Paul’s use of akrates implies that we should be able to have self-control. In other words, addictive loss of self-control is a choice, not a predetermined conclusion. Paul claims that in the last days men and women will show their wickedness because of the lack of self-control, not because they were destined to disobey. The theology of Twelve Step programs has it almost right. “Hello. My name is Skip and I’m an addict. I admit that I have chosen and conditioned myself to become powerless over ­­­__________.”

The bottom line is this: You and I are more than capable of choosing to go the way of righteousness, but we don’t. We don’t because we convince ourselves of two crucial lies. The first lie is that we can put ourselves in situations where the temptation for addictive response is high and we still think that we can handle it this time. Jonathan Sacks is right. Often sin is a matter of geography. If certain circumstances have caused us to fall in the past, the solution is to avoid those circumstances in the future. It’s a lot like muscle memory. Any good athlete will tell you that the goal of training is to condition the body to respond automatically to certain situations. Muscle memory takes over so you don’t have to think about what to do to make a double play, shoot a free throw or kick the ball into the net. It’s just automatic. The same is true of righteousness. We all need spiritual memory training so that when we are faced with specific circumstances our past pattern of righteous behavior kicks in automatically and we avoid collapse. All of that starts by admitting that we simply can’t trust ourselves in those situations where we fell apart before.

This reveals the second crucial lie. That lie is resident in the yetzer ha’ra. It is the lie that convinces us that now we are different. Now we are immune. Now the yetzer ha’ra isn’t so cunning and powerful and seductive. It is the lie that we are no longer subject to the deception resident within us. As soon as I begin to convince myself that I have conquered this temptation, that I am now victorious and powerful, I have already been seduced. Only God is immune to temptation. And you and I are not God. The yetzer ha’ra will do anything necessary to convince you that you are competent, capable and courageous in order to get you to relax your grip on the truth of God’s words. Falling is not far behind.

To admit that you are powerless is not to admit that you can’t do anything about this. Just the opposite is true. When we admit that we cannot manufacturer self-control on our own, we inherently admit that without God’s intervention, assistance and direction, we are lost. And the first step to being found is to know you are lost.

In the last days more and more people will be addicted to everything except admitting weakness. More and more people will live lives of constant failure and blame destiny, parents, genes or God. In the last days addictions will become accepted as inevitable by-products of social dysfunction.

Paul expects followers of the Messiah to have self-control. That does not mean he expects followers to conquer temptations on their own. Self-control is the power to know where and when you are too weak to go it alone—and shout for help!

Topical Index: self-control, akrates, powerless, Twelve Steps, 2 Timothy 3:3