Table of Contents Pointing fingers is easy. It’s forgiveness that can get tricky sometimes. (pathdoc/Shutterstock) Forgiveness doesn’t always come easily. The struggle to let go of our resentments and forgive those who have harmed us can take quite a while, especially for deep-seated resentments that we have held for several years. But if we wish…
Last month, we noted in our article on the Third Promise that it was technically only one half of a longer sentence contained within Chapter 6 of the Big Book. The second half of that sentence has been turned into the Fourth Promise, which is much shorter than the Third Promise yet no less important.…
Humility is the most important of the Seven Heavenly Virtues, which is why it has been chosen to end this series. Much as pride is often seen as the root of all the Seven Deadly Sins, humility is in many ways the attribute which breeds the rest of the virtues. Without it, we would not…
The penultimate article in our series on the Seven Heavenly Virtues may come as a surprise to some. Not the concept of patience as a virtue—which is, after all, a rather common expression—but rather the fact that its counterpart in the Seven Deadly Sins is generally held to be wrath. It may be a bit…
In the most recent installment of our series on the Seven Heavenly Virtues, we mentioned that kindness meant more than just charity. Of course, the two clearly still go hand-in-hand. And once recovering addicts and alcoholics have learned the basics of kindness, it is time to begin branching out and finding new ways of demonstrating…
Even if you had only just heard of the Seven Heavenly Virtues for the first time, it would likely not surprise you to learn that kindness was on the list. In fact, it is the first virtue we have covered that mostly stands on its own. Courage is required for diligence, while temperance and chastity…
It was mentioned in our initial article on the Seven Heavenly Virtues that chastity had something of a broad definition. Technically, the same could be said of diligence or temperance, as both encompass numerous virtuous qualities that would be beneficial to the life of the recovering addict or alcoholic. But each of these was still…
The first article in our series on the Seven Heavenly Virtues was focused upon diligence, which we greatly associated with such qualities as faith and courage. Temperance is more aligned with prudence, and actually complements diligence quite well for those who are attempting to fully embrace the concept of virtuous living. While diligence is all…
Last month, we discussed the link between the Seven Deadly Sins and the many character defects commonly associated with alcoholism and addiction. But if we are to overcome these character flaws, we must in turn look toward the Seven Heavenly Virtues. These stem originally from the Four Cardinal Virtues (justice, courage, prudence and temperance) and…