I was new to the program, and was listening to an "old timer" (In NA this is anyone with more than a year of clean time) speak about what keeps him clean, and he began to speak about the spiritual side of the program.

"Religion is for people who don't want to go to Hell" he said, "But Spirituality is for those of us who have already been there."

I nodded my head in agreement - this just sounded so right

Now that I have a little time sober, and have become very comfortable in my own skin as well as in my own beiefs about God, I can see that this saying is actually so wrong on so many levels.

Before we discuss why it's wrong, let's take a look at why it sounds so right...

Alcoholics and addicts tend to hate rules. We're rebels, for the most part, and non-conformists. Moreover, we take a secret delicious pride in our noncomformity.

Religion, for many of us, seems like just another set of rules that someone's trying to impose on us, and we chafe at it.

Being a Christian, I can only speak for Christianity.

In Christianity, it is true that God has told us to do certain things, and has told us to not do other things.

In fact...Christianity teaches us that man's real problem is a refusal to conform himself to a holy God.

Now remember - I'm speaking of Christianity...not necessarily what you or I were taught about Christianity in church. I'm speaking of what the bible actually says.

We're also taught - in the bible - that because man strayed from God's perfect plan, we've gotten all out of whack. We've lost our conscious contact with Him, and started making our own decisions in life. Something we seem ill equippeed to do. Remember - my best decisions got me to AA.

A lot of us have some pretty severe baggage from church, as well. Maybe we were forced to go, or had major shame thrown on us, or had someone else's beliefs crammed down our throats.

It's no wonder that when someone talks about an alternative to religion, that our ears perk up.

Let me ask you, though - what, exactly is "spirituality"?

I'm willing to bet you've never heard anyone define the word!

I never have either!

As best as I can tell, though, when someone talks about spirituality versus religion, they are talking about having a relationship with a loving God who doesn't impose any rules on them. A God who doesn't expect them to conform to His ways. A God who makes very few demands upon them.

At first blush, this seems wonderful. We all want unconditional love and acceptance!

Is it realistic, though? Or even desirable?

Let's look at religion ....

Even many Christians chafe at the word "religion". They tell us that God isn't into religion...He's into relationships....

The bible, though, tells us that there is a form of religion which is pleasing to God:

"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

If I read this right - pure religion is to love others and to do what is right. It's that simple. It has nothing to do with burning candles, stations of the cross, incense, etc. It's just doing what is right and helping others.

Jesus said something similar. he said that all of the commandments (rules) could be summarized by saying that you should love God with all of your heart and love other people.

in AA, we do these two things by turning our will over to the care of God and by helping the alcoholic who still suffers.

Jesus said that if we love Him, we'll keep His commandments.

See - our obedience has nothing to do with trying to avoid Hell - our obedience is an expression of our love for Jesus. Simply put - we obey the rules because we love the rule-giver.

What about this thing God has about wanting us to conform ourselves to Him? Why does He demand this?

Well - the first thing we need to realize is that conformity is not all that bad of a thing, sometimes.

If you have ever gone to college, you know that there are certain rules, schedules, routines, etc.

Classes are scheduled for certain times during the day, students sit in desks, it's expected that students and teachers will wear clothing of some sort, etc.

Imagine, if you will, how things would go for you if you refused to conform to the rules and routines of the college you attend. Perhaps you decide to show up for your morning class during late afternoon, wearing nothing but a smile, and sit on the floor rather than a desk.

Chances are that your college experience would not be successful.

Likewise - in life - God has certain rules in place - generally for our own protection and for our own good. Our refusal to conform to God's ways will result in disaster. For many of us, it already has...that's why we were drunks and addicts.

In AA, we learn to submit our lives - and our wills - to God. It's the only way.

As Christians, this means we obey. And, in that obedience, we find freedom. Quite a paradox, ain't it?

So - I'm proud to tell you that I don't practice spirituality... I practice Christianity - and it works for me!