“Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer” (The Godfather: Part II).
It’s usually pretty easy to spot a friend. That is the person who loves you more because of your addiction, not despite your addiction.
What’s not so easy to spot is an enemy. Let me help.
An enemy is someone who . . .
- Tells you what you want to hear instead of what you need to hear.
- Loves you until she knows you.
- Cares more about where you’ve been than where you’re going.
- Defines you by your worst moment.
We need the person whose love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7).
But if we are to find real recovery, we need something else. Not content to simply know this person, we seek to become this person. Then we can help others. In the process, we help ourselves.
Recovery Step: Be the friend to someone else that you need someone else to be to you.
