Endigar 474 ~ I Am an Instrument
From Today’s Daily Reflections;
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 70)
The subject of humility is a difficult one. Humility is not thinking less of myself than I ought to; it is acknowledging that I do certain things well, it is accepting a compliment graciously.
God can only do for me what He can do through me. Humility is the result of knowing that God is the doer, not me. In the light of this awareness, how can I take pride in my accomplishments? I am an instrument and any work I seem to be doing is being done by God through me. I ask God on a daily basis to remove my shortcomings, in order that I may more freely go about my A.A. business of “love and service.”
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I have heard of three different kinds of humility while in the rooms of A.A.; Traumatic Humility, Religious Humility, and Connective Humility.
Traumatic humility is inflicted upon me because my isolating pride prevents me from open-minded considerations that might save or improve my life.
we often found ourselves handicapped by obstinacy, sensitiveness, and unreasoning prejudice. Many of us have been so touchy that even casual reference to spiritual things made us bristle with antagonism. This sort of thinking had to be abandoned. Though some of us resisted, we found no great difficulty in casting aside such feelings. Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness. Sometimes this was a tedious process; we hope no one else will be prejudiced for as long as some of us were. (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 48)
Religious humility is when I realize that my life was a threat not only to myself, but to all those who got too close to me. I had often heard that sometimes the most spiritual thing I can do is to quit hurting people. It allows us to see what MUST be done to stop the hurt and lay the groundwork for future transformation.
[ WE MUST…]
The most difficult and desired humility for me is that which develops the ability and habit of connecting to others who need my highest manifestation. The times I have experienced it, I see the intrinsic value in others, not just their usefulness to my well-being. Without arrogance, I recognize that I have something of value to contribute to the powerful stream of life which produces self-esteem and confidence and makes the mask of delusional pride unnecessary. It becomes a natural desire to share what has been given to me when I surrender to the principles of this program and the guidance of my Gomu (God of my understanding). I desire this as a way of life, not just on occasional event. I know, progress not perfection.
“Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Remember they are very ill. Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others. to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends – this is an experience you must not miss.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 89)
Daily Reprieve 
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