Step 10 Devotional: Looking in the Mirror

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Personal moral inventory is not without its own set of tools.

You need a “mirror” to help prompt and guide you to introspection, change, and growth.

We’ve talked extensively in this series about the difficulty of admitting personal fault, even outside of the shame of addiction. But honest and habitual inventory of our faults, struggles, and areas in need of growth is crucial for real recovery. But that’s easier said than done most of the time. This is especially true when our issues have become so common that we accept them as the norm rather than the exception. Thankfully, personal moral inventory is not without its tools. One such tool, and a vital one, is a spiritual “mirror.”

A mirror is powerful imagery to use when talking about personal introspection and moral inventory. Would any of us, after spotting a mustard stain on our shirt while walking by a mirror, not stop to try to clean it off? The same should be said for our thoughts, behaviors, and lifestyle. However, this is commonly not the case, especially during a life in addiction. Our default as human beings is to ignore or deny our own faults and failings. We walk around with giant “mustard stains” on our hearts and we either avoid the spiritual mirrors in our life or just never happen upon them.

Published

11/13/2022

Category

Faith

Step 10 of Recovery

We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

So where do we find these spiritual mirrors? Ironically, one such spiritual mirror is as easy to come by in our culture as a physical mirror. That spiritual mirror is the bible. I know. I’m really throwing a curveball suggesting reading the bible in an American faith devotional, right? As cliche as it might sound, the bible is really an excellent tool for introspection, regardless of your religious preferences. It even says so about itself in Hebrews 4:12. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Simply cracking open the bible will quickly reveal the “mustard stains” of your life. However, long periods in the “word of God” will shed light on entirely new matters you didn’t know were there. Forget stains. Have you ever had a white shirt that you wore so much, it was no longer “white?” And you grew so accustomed to its slow fade that you didn’t even realize it? The bible can act as your friend’s brand new white shirt standing next to you. You’ll come to realize just how “worn down” your spiritual health has gotten over the years. Simply reading the bible doesn’t change you, though. James, the brother of Jesus, explains why that’s the case in his letter to the church.

James paints a very vivid picture for us here. According to him, we need to actually accept God’s word into our lives in order to truly change. It’s one thing for someone to tell us, “hey, you got a stain on your shirt” than it is for us to accept it enough to change our shirt. James warns us from just merely reading and listening to advice without doing anything about it. He not only says it’s like looking in a mirror and ignoring the problem, but that we’ll “forget what we look like.” We’ve talked extensively about how much addiction reshapes our identity and reality along with it. That’s exactly what’s happening here.

Without hearing what needs to change in our hearts, minds, and lives and then actually doing anything about it, we’ll start to see the “mustard stain” as just a part of the shirt’s design. We’ll begin or continue to tell ourselves that it’s just the way we are. That kind of thinking leads to disastrous consequences, namely addiction. So, in order to make real strides in our recovery journey, we have to take some time to look in the mirror, not just see our issues, but do something about them. The bible can be a real practical tool for life change. Crack it open and see yourself as God sees you.

“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”

James 1:21-25

Conclusion

Key takeaways

  • Our issues have become so common that we accept them as the norm rather than the exception.
  • The default human response to criticism is to ignore or deny our own problems.
  • The bible is a key “spiritual mirror” that helps reflect what needs to be changed within you.
  • Spotting “spiritual stains” is easy. Finding where your spiritual health has been worn down is hard.
  • Hearing criticism is hard, but doing something about it is even harder, and is what really matters.
  • Without changing what’s wrong within us, we’ll accept it as our identity and reality, making things worse.

Challenge

Apply to your life

Take an hour this week to read James 1. If you’re up for it, read all of Paul’s letter to James. Meditate and pray on what you read. Read, pray, and meditate with your mirror up. Look deep with yourself and think about the mistakes and unhealthy behavior, whether it’d be a one-off or recurring problem, and ask God for guidance on how to work toward long lasting change.

Conclusion

Key takeaways

  • Our issues have become so common that we accept them as the norm rather than the exception.
  • The default human response to criticism is to ignore or deny our own problems.
  • The bible is a key “spiritual mirror” that helps reflect what needs to be changed within you.
  • Spotting “spiritual stains” is easy. Finding where your spiritual health has been worn down is hard.
  • Hearing criticism is hard, but doing something about it is even harder, and is what really matters.
  • Without changing what’s wrong within us, we’ll accept it as our identity and reality, making things worse.

Challenge

Apply to your life

Take an hour this week to read James 1. If you’re up for it, read all of Paul’s letter to James. Meditate and pray on what you read. Read, pray, and meditate with your mirror up. Look deep with yourself and think about the mistakes and unhealthy behavior, whether it’d be a one-off or recurring problem, and ask God for guidance on how to work toward long lasting change.

Credit where credit is due

This article was inspired by The Life Recovery Bible presented by Tyndale Publishing. If you would like to check out additional recovery articles, videos, and podcast episodes, check us out at artisticrecovery.org.

Ty Walker

Ty Walker is a contract copywriter and graphic designer with a huge heart for recovery. He has spent the last five years serving churches and recovery communities with his creative skills. Ty spends his free time writing poetry and fictional short stories as well as hiking, biking, and kayaking with his wife, Angie, and his two daughters, Winter and Ember.

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Our default as human beings is to ignore or deny our own faults and failings. We walk around with giant “mustard stains” on our hearts and we either avoid the spiritual mirrors in our life or just never happen upon them.

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