Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
So there was joy, but superiority soon followed.
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I found this to be a great summary --
Yes, there was great joy, but soon superiority leavened the whole lump.
Let me expand on that with my own story. I had a life-changing salvation experience at home one evening reading a paraphrased NT a friend gave me. Half year later I went to my first LC meeting. Standing to worship the Lord, I was filled with the Spirit like the night I was first saved. Every meeting was glorious, joyful, invigorating, enlightening, refreshing ... add any other adjective you can think of. A month later I went to my first training in Anaheim. So much joy, in fact, after a few days my cigarette addiction was completely gone! What was impossible for me, was easily possible with God!
Before that training Jesus was everything. I told everyone I met. Friends and family were shocked by my change of heart. After that training on Revelations, it was Jesus
plus condemnation of the Catholic Church. Looking back, I didn't even realize how much I had changed because I was still so joyful. Slowly over time, however, much of that joy got replaced by superiority, pride, and a critical heart. At first Jesus was everything, then it was Christ and the church, and finally it was mostly about "the ministry."
I haven't seen that kind of joy in the Recovery for decades.