27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
When it is in the power of your hand to do so.
28 Do not say to your neighbor,
“Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,”
When you have it with you.
29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor,
For he dwells by you for safety’s sake.
30 Do not strive with a man without cause,
If he has done you no harm.
When it is in the power of your hand to do so.
28 Do not say to your neighbor,
“Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,”
When you have it with you.
29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor,
For he dwells by you for safety’s sake.
30 Do not strive with a man without cause,
If he has done you no harm.
31 Do not envy the oppressor,
And choose none of his ways;
32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord,
But His secret counsel is with the upright.
33 The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the home of the just.
34 Surely He scorns the scornful,
But gives grace to the humble.
35 The wise shall inherit glory,
But shame shall be the legacy of fools.
And choose none of his ways;
32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord,
But His secret counsel is with the upright.
33 The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the home of the just.
34 Surely He scorns the scornful,
But gives grace to the humble.
35 The wise shall inherit glory,
But shame shall be the legacy of fools.
...
Hear, my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding;
2 For I give you good doctrine:
Do not forsake my law.
3 When I was my father’s son,
Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
4 He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words;
Keep my commands, and live.
5 Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
And give attention to know understanding;
2 For I give you good doctrine:
Do not forsake my law.
3 When I was my father’s son,
Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
4 He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words;
Keep my commands, and live.
5 Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,
And the years of your life will be many.
11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in right paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered,
And when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;
Keep her, for she is your life.
And the years of your life will be many.
11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in right paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered,
And when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;
Keep her, for she is your life.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
And do not walk in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun,[a]
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.
20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Incline your ear to my sayings.
~~~
&&&&&&&&&&
the "Living Sober" Reading:
"A.
It's usually
better if men sponsor men and women sponsor women. This helps avoid
the possibility of romance rearing its lovely head—a development
which can hideously complicate, if not destroy, the sponsor-newcomer
relationship. By trial and error, we've discovered that sex and
sponsorship are a very bad mix.
B.
Whether or not we like what our sponsor suggests (and sponsors can
only suggest; they cannot make anybody do anything, or actually
prevent any action), the fact is that the sponsor has been sober
longer, knows pitfalls to avoid, and may be right.
C.
An AA sponsor is not a professional caseworker or counselor of any
sort. A sponsor is not someone to borrow money from, nor get clothes,
jobs, or food from. A sponsor is not a medical expert, nor qualified
to give religious, legal, domestic, or psychiatric advice, although a
good sponsor is usually willing to discuss such matters
confidentially, and often can suggest where the appropriate
professional assistance can be obtained. A sponsor is simply a sober
alcoholic who can help solve only one problem: how to stay sober. And
the sponsor has only one tool to use— personal experience, not
scientific wisdom. Sponsors have been
there, and they
often have more concern, hope, compassion, and confidence for us than
we have for ourselves. They certainly have had more experience.
Remembering their own condition, they reach out
to help, not
down. Someone has said alcoholics may be people who should never keep
secrets about themselves, especially the guilty kind. Being open
about ourselves helps prevent that, and can be a good antidote for
any tendency toward excessive self-concern and self-consciousness. A
good sponsor is someone we can confide in, get everything off our
chests with.
D. It's
agreeable when the sponsor is congenial, someone who shares our
background and interests beyond sobriety. But it is not necessary. In
many instances, the best sponsor is someone totally different. The
most unlikely pairings of sponsor and newcomer sometimes work the
best.
E.
Sponsors, like most everyone else, are likely to have some family and
job obligations. Although a sponsor will, on occasion, leave work or
home to help a newcomer in a real bind, there are naturally times
when the sponsor is truly out of reach. Here is the opportunity for
many of us to use our reawakening wits and figure out a substitute
for a sponsor. If we genuinely desire help, we do not let a sponsor's
illness, or momentary unavailability for any other reason, stop us
from getting some help. We can try to find a nearby AA meeting. We
can read AA literature or something else we have found helpful. We
can telephone other recovered alcoholics we have met, even if we
don't know them very well. And we can telephone or visit the nearest
AA office or clubroom for AA members. Even if the only person we find
to talk to is someone we have not met before, we're sure to encounter
sincere interest and a desire to help in any AA member we reach. When
we really level about our distress, true empathy is forthcoming.
Sometimes, we get really needed encouragement from recovered
alcoholics we do not much care for. Even if such a feeling is mutual,
when one of us trying to stay sober asks any other recovered
alcoholic to help us not drink, all petty and superficial differences
melt away.
F.
Some people think it a good idea to have more than one sponsor, so at
least one is always likely to be available. This plan has one
additional advantage, but also carries a slight risk. The advantage
is that three or four sponsors provide a wider range of experience
and knowledge than any one person possibly can. The risk in having
several sponsors, rather than just one, lies in a tendency some of us
developed during our drinking days. In order to protect ourselves and
keep our drinking beyond criticism, we often told different tales to
different people. We even learned how to manipulate people, in a
sense, so the people-environment would practically condone, or even
encourage, our drinking. We may not have been aware of this tendency,
and it was usually lacking in any evil intent. But it really became a
part of our personalities in our drinking days. So a few of us with a
clutch of sponsors have caught ourselves trying to play off one
sponsor against another, telling one thing to the first, something
else to the second. This doesn't always work, since sponsors are hard
to kid. They catch on pretty fast to the tricks of anyone wanting to
drink, having used almost all such wiles themselves. But sometimes we
can keep at it until we get one sponsor to say something directly
opposite to what another sponsor has said. Maybe we manage to wangle
out of somebody what we want
to hear, not
what we need. Or, at least, we interpret this sponsor's words to suit
our wishes. Such behavior seems more a reflection of our illness than
an honest search for help in getting well. We, the newcomers, are the
ones most hurt when this happens. So maybe if we have a team of
sponsors, it would be a good idea to keep one eye cocked sharply,
alert to catch ourselves if we should find ourselves getting into
games like that, instead of trying to progress straight toward our
own recovery goal.
G.
Being recovered alcoholics themselves, sponsors naturally have their
own unique strengths—and foibles. The sponsor (or any other human
being) without flaw or weakness hasn't turned up yet, as far as we
know. It is a rare occurrence, but it is possible that we can be
misled or given a bum steer by a sponsor's mistaken advice. As we've
all found by doing it ourselves, even with the best intentions,
sponsors can goof. You probably can guess what the next sentence will
say.... A
sponsor's unfortunate behavior is no more a valid excuse for taking a
drink than anything else is. The
hand that pours a drink down your gullet is still your own. Rather
than blame the sponsor, we've found at least 30 other ways to stay
away from a drink. Those 30 are laid out in the other sections of
this booklet, of course.
H.
You are under no obligation ever to repay your sponsor in any way for
helping you. He or she does so because helping others helps us
maintain our own sobriety. You are free to accept or reject help. If
you accept it, you have no debt to repay. Sponsors are kind—and
tough—not for credit, and not because they like to "do good
works." A good sponsor is as much helped as the person being
sponsored. You'll find this to be true the first time you sponsor
someone. Some day, you may want to pass such help on to someone else.
That's the only thanks you need give.
I.
Like a good parent, a wise sponsor can let the newcomer alone, when
necessary; can let the newcomer make his or her own mistakes; can see
the newcomer rejecting advice and still not get angry or feel
spurned. A sharp sponsor tries hard to keep vanity and hurt feelings
out of the way in sponsorship. And the best sponsors are really
delighted when the newcomer is able to step out past the stage of
being sponsored. Not that we ever have to go it altogether alone. But
the time does come when even a young bird must use its own wings and
start its own family. Happy flying!"
