Look behind you. See your sons and your daughters. They are your future. Look farther and see your sons’ and your daughters’ children and their children’s children even unto the Seventh Generation. That’s the way we were taught. Think about it: you yourself are a Seventh Generation.
The Creator designed us with a free will. That means we function from choices and consequences. It is important that we practice thinking about consequences before we make decisions about choices. Every choice I make is like setting up dominos one after the other that produce consequences. Not just for me but also for my children and for the children that are unborn. My choices and decisions today will have consequences for seven generations. For example, if I work on my own spiritual development and I walk the Red Road, the odds are that my children will. They will marry and their children will follow the Red Road and so will my grandchildren even up to the seventh generation. This will happen because of the choices and decisions that I make today.
The Fellowship offers only one promise and that is freedom from active addiction, the solution that eluded us for so long. It is true that some of our members meet with financial success in recovery. They buy nice houses, drive new cars, wear fine clothes, and form beautiful families. These outward signs of prosperity are not the lot of all of our members, however. A great many of us never achieve financial success. This does not necessarily reflect on the quality of our recovery.
When we are tempted to compare ourselves to these other, seemingly more affluent members, it is good to remember why we came to the rooms of the Fellowship. We came because our lives had fallen down around us. We were emotionally, physically, and spiritually defeated. In desperation, we sought help from each other in the Fellowship. We came because we were beaten. For addicts, even one day clean is a miracle.
When we remember why we came to the Fellowship and in what condition we arrived, we realize that material wealth pales in comparison to the spiritual riches we have gained in recovery.
Just for Today: I have been given a spiritual gift greater than material wealth: my recovery. I will thank the Creator for my freedom from active addiction and make choices that benefit the seventh generation.