Step 1: We admitted that we were powerless over our dependencies-that our life had become unmanageable.

January 6, 2007

“To me Step One is not just a step “to take” and then leave it behind and go on. Step One is a growing awareness of one’s condition, and it should be thought about, and the realization deepened every day.”*

     Abraham eventually had a son by Sarah, and they named him Isaac. Isaac had twin boys – Jacob and Esau. Jacob in particular carried on one of the multi-generational patterns of sin: deception. Jacob was a tricky trickster, and he used his clever ways to usurp Esau (the official firstborn) of his birthright. It’s a long story, with lots of good family systems stuff, and I really want to retell it – but I won’t – so go read it!

     Anyway, after all the trickery, Jacob high-tailed it out of town, and ended up working for a dude named Laban. Jacob fell madly in love with one of his daughters - Rachel. In a neat twist of irony Laban tricked Jacob into working for him for seven years with the promise that Rachel would be his bride, but instead gave him his older daughter Leah. Again, Jacob had to work an additional seven years to finally marry Rachel. (This is a story that is soap opera material!)

     Finally, Jacob comes to a step one moment in his life. He becomes aware of his condition. Jacob responds to this growing awareness by becoming more cagey in his dealings with Laban. Eventually, all this manipulation results in Jacob gaining enough wealth that he felt free to take both wives and flee Laban’s control. Confrontation is inevitable. Listen to Jacob’s response to Laban’s attempt to re-exert domination.

     “What is my crime? What sin have I committed that you hunt me down? I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. I did not bring you animals torn by wild beats; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times.” Genesis 31:36-41

     Jacob was seriously in touch with his situation. How about you? Are you fully in touch with the areas in your life that render you powerless and leave your life an unmanageable mess?

Scripture reading for today: Genesis 30 - 31

Thought for today: As you continue reading, and if you give this passage a lot of thought, you’ll probably notice that Jacob wasn’t exactly coming clean. He didn’t mention that his own efforts at manipulation cleverly increased his personal wealth. So even Jacob has some more work to do on step one. This is good news for us. We don’t have to have it all together to successfully take our first step. Let’s just begin where we are able, and see how God will lead!

Thought for tomorrow: One really cool part of this story is Jacob’s awareness of God’s place in the story. He believes that without God’s intervention, Laban’s manipulations would have worked. “If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not stuck with me, you would have sent me off penniless. But God saw the fix I was in and how hard I had worked and last night rendered his verdict.” Genesis 31:42 The Message

I love knowing that God’s provisions for me are not dependent on my perfect behavior.

Teresa McBean
January 6, 2007

* The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, Some Personal Comments by Father Martin, Father Joseph C. Martin, Kelly Productions, Inc. 530 S. Philadelphia Blvd., Aberdeen, MD 21001-3498

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