Can You Over-God Someone in Recovery? Absolutely.

I recently watched something happen that bothered me.

Someone relatively new to recovery was getting hammered with God, Scripture, Bible verses, and preaching about what they supposedly needed to believe in order to stay sober.

And I thought to myself:

Stop.

Yes, I believe in God. My faith is the Catholic faith, and coming back to the Catholic Church has become an important part of my life and has strengthened my recovery. But that’s my journey. That’s where my search for faith led me.

It doesn’t give me the right to decide what somebody else’s relationship with God—or their Higher Power—is supposed to look like.

You Can Over-God Someone

Especially someone new to recovery.

When somebody walks into recovery beaten down, confused, scared, angry, ashamed, or desperate, the last thing they necessarily need is somebody standing over them preaching.

They need someone to listen.

They need someone to tell them:

“You don’t have to figure everything out today. Just don’t drink or use today. We’ll walk through this together.”

That’s recovery.

Reading Scripture at someone and telling them they need God or they’ll never stay sober isn’t going to magically give them faith.

Sometimes it does the opposite.

It drives them away.

AA Doesn’t Require You to Believe Exactly What I Believe

There’s a reason AA talks about “God as we understood Him.”

There’s a reason Step Two says:

“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

It doesn’t say:

“Believe exactly what your sponsor believes.”

It doesn’t say:

“Become Catholic because I’m Catholic.”

It doesn’t say:

“Join a particular church.”

And it doesn’t say:

“Accept somebody else’s theology before you’re allowed to recover.”

For some people, faith comes quickly.

For others, it takes years.

Some struggle with God.

Some are angry at God.

Some are agnostic.

Some begin by simply believing that the AA group itself represents something greater than themselves.

Let them discover it.

My Journey Isn’t Your Journey

This is especially important for me because my own beliefs didn’t happen overnight.

My journey eventually brought me back to Catholicism. That’s where I’ve found faith, peace, direction, and a deeper relationship with God.

But I had to arrive there myself.

Nobody could force me there.

And imagine if someone had tried to force that conclusion on me before I was ready.

I probably would have pushed back even harder.

That’s why I don’t believe my job in recovery is to make somebody believe what I believe.

My job is to help the alcoholic or addict in front of me stay alive long enough to discover what they believe for themselves.

Sometimes the Best Sermon Is Your Life

If your faith has changed you, people should be able to see it.

They should see it in your patience.

Your humility.

Your forgiveness.

Your willingness to help.

Your ability to admit when you’re wrong.

Your treatment of people who believe differently than you.

You shouldn’t have to beat somebody over the head with Scripture to prove you have God in your life.

Live it.

Let your life make them curious.

And if they eventually ask you about your faith?

Then talk about it.

I’ll gladly tell somebody why I’m Catholic and what returning to the Church has done for me.

But there’s a difference between sharing your faith and forcing your faith.

Don’t confuse sharing your experience with preaching at someone who never asked for a sermon.

To the Want-to-Be Preachers in Recovery

Sometimes you might just need to keep your mouth shut.

That’s not anti-God.

That’s humility.

You don’t know where that newcomer has been.

You don’t know what experiences they’ve had with religion.

You don’t know what they believe.

And you don’t know what their Higher Power may eventually look like.

Give them room.

Help them get sober.

Show them what recovery looks like.

And let God handle the God part.

Because maybe the person you’re trying so hard to preach to doesn’t need another Bible verse today.

Maybe they just need another recovering alcoholic to sit beside them and say, “I’ve been there. You’re not alone. Let’s get through today.”

That’s carrying the message.

That’s recovery.

And sometimes that’s exactly where someone’s relationship with a Higher Power begins.

Don’t force faith. Live it.

Normalize Sobriety.

Keep it Clean. Keep it Simple.