Endigar 637 ~ Reaching Out
From the Daily Reflections of December 14;
Never talk down to an alcoholic from any moral or spiritual hilltop; simply lay out the kit of spiritual tools for his inspection. Show him how they worked with you. (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 95)
When I come into contact with a newcomer, do I have a tendency to look at him from my perceived angle of success in A.A.? Do I compare him with the large number of acquaintances I have made in the Fellowship? Do I point out to him in a magisterial way the voice of A.A.? What is my real attitude toward him? I must examine myself whenever I meet a newcomer to make sure that I am carrying the message with simplicity, humility and generosity. The one who still suffers from the terrible disease of alcoholism must find in me a friend who will allow him to get to know the A.A. way, because I had such a friend when I arrived in A.A. Today it is my turn to hold out my hand, with love, to my sister or brother alcoholic, and to show her or him the way to happiness.
END OF QUOTE
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The admonition to “never talk down to an alcoholic” presumes that I am talking to an active alcoholic. “When I come into contact with a newcomer” assumes that I am going to come into contact with a newcomer and interact. The ultimate moral or religious hilltop (read isolating pride) is to withdraw from the efforts of the Fellowship while it interacts with newcomers and engages those still suffering from alcoholism, because I have recovered. It is the ultimate state of personal arrogance when my own recovery is the only goal of my attendance in meetings. How can I grow in humility and spirituality if I don’t risk reaching out? If I am not finding the opportunity to grow, I will surrender to the tendency to shrink and fade.
Daily Reprieve 
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