Latest / Sober Readings / What? No President?
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Welcome back to Sober Readings. Today is Saturday, February 28th. Today's reading from Daily Reflections. What? No president? When told that our society has no president having authority to govern it, no treasurer who can compel the payment of any dues, our friends gasp and exclaim, this simply can't be. That's from 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, page 132. When I finally made my way to AA, I could not believe that there was no treasure to compel the payment of dues. I could not imagine an organization that didn't require monetary contributions in return for a service. It was my first and thus far only experience with getting something for nothing. Because I did not feel used or conned by those in AA, I was able to approach the program free from bias. and with an open mind. They wanted nothing from me. What could I lose? I thank God for the wisdom of the early founders who knew so well the alcoholics' disdain for being manipulated. Today's reading from 24 Hours, The AA Thought for the Day. We should be free from alcohol for good. It's out of our hands and in the hands of God, so we don't need to worry about it or even think about it anymore. But if we haven't done this honestly and fully, the chances are that it will become our problem again. Since we don't trust God to take care of the problem for us, we reach out and take the problem back to ourselves. Then it's our problem again and we're in the same old mess we were in before. We're helpless again and we drink. So ask yourself today, do I trust God to take care of the problem for me? And the final reading today is from As Bill Sees It. Today we're reading from page 247. Have you experimented? Since open-mindedness and experimentation are supposed to be the indispensable attributes of our scientific civilization, it seems strange that so many scientists are reluctant to try out personally the hypothesis that God came first and man afterward. They prefer to believe that man is the chance product of evolution, that God, the Creator, does not exist. I can only report that I have experimented with both concepts and that, in my case, the God concept has proved to be a better basis for living than the man-centered one. Nevertheless, I would be the first to defend your right to think as you will. I simply ask this question. In your own life, have you ever really tried to think and act as though there might be a God? Have you experimented? And that's from a letter written in 1950. And that's it for today's readings. I would love to hear your answers, your thoughts and your comments on that last question. In your own life, have you ever really tried to think and act as though there might be a God? Have you experimented? I don't know that I've ever asked myself that question, but I know that I've experimented with thinking there isn't a God and living on my own, off my own free will. But at the time I didn't know that I was experimenting. was just doing it because I didn't know there was any other way. So I'd love to hear your thoughts and your comments. Send me an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com or go to my website soberreadings.com and fill out the form. While you're there, if you want to drop a dollar in the donation basket for today's reading, just click on that donate button. So until next time, remember just for today, don't drink, go to a meeting. and keep coming back. Have a great day. And as my friend Larry says, best day ever.