July 31
Other Good Work
Sobriety may awaken concerns we once scarcely noticed. We care about hungry neighbors, children, the environment, or unfairness at work. It can be tempting to bring every new commitment into A.A., especially when our closest friends are there. Surely people who care about suffering will want the group to support this worthy cause. Their hesitation can seem painfully narrow.
Tradition Five makes room for a distinction between our lives as citizens and our group's shared purpose. We can give ourselves generously to many causes without asking A.A. to adopt them. Members who differ on those matters still need somewhere to meet as alcoholics. Preserving that meeting place does not diminish the urgency of other work. It protects a particular help that we have received, while leaving each of us free to take responsibility elsewhere in our own name.
What worthy commitment can I honor without making it my group's commitment?
There is room for more than one kind of service in a life.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Traditions Five and Six.