Why Faith Alone is Useless and What it Takes to Make Life Worth Living – Step 3 begins

A gold fish jumping from its own bowl into a bowl of sharks w/ sfz title

Written by

Bodhi Baba

in

,

How have you let your HP into your life, lately?

Featured Comment on Life  ::: “This weekend I have 3 days off. When I’m relaxed as I am now I’m more generous and forgiving. I feel more compassion when my head isn’t full of thoughts about what I need to be doing.” – Adam

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How might hope and faith support one another?

OR

Why isn’t just believing in something enough to make life better?

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Time to Start – Blue Man Group (4:40)

Insane in the Membrane – Cypress Hill (3:26)

Life & Birth Meditation (13:49)

Einstein on God (7:48)

In today’s SFZ, Step Three teaches that belief must lead to action. Faith alone, while vital, is not enough. William James, a pioneer in psychology and religious experience, argued that belief without transformation is hollow. The recovery process demands more than trust—it calls for surrender. Surrender, as Richard Rohr notes, is the key to spiritual growth. We must hand over control to something greater than ourselves.

The dilemma arises when individuals claim faith but live unchanged. According to Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, we may believe in God, yet still shut Him out. Faith becomes empty when it stays in the mind and never moves the heart or behavior. Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish theologian, warned of this “inauthentic faith”—faith not acted upon becomes denial in disguise.

The solution comes through action. Step Three calls us to a conscious choice: to align our will with a Higher Power. This act is not passive—it is deliberate. As It Works: How and Why states, we must be willing to let our Higher Power guide us. This willingness opens us to change.

Plutarch’s words echo this truth: change must begin inside. When we give up control and live by spiritual principles, our outer life begins to reflect inner peace. Viktor Frankl reminds us that meaning arises when we respond to life with responsibility, not just belief.

In short, life becomes worth living when faith is paired with willingness and action.

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Comments

5 responses to “Why Faith Alone is Useless and What it Takes to Make Life Worth Living – Step 3 begins”

  1. Elexi W.S.A. Avatar
    Elexi W.S.A.

    I’ve let O Great Spirit – I will use as HP right now, in my life by prayer, and meditation – that has made me stronger, and given me so much strength to keep on striving towards what I want to accomplish in my life for the betterment of me.

    Reply
  2. Ari L Avatar
    Ari L

    I try to do affirmations frequently that start with a prayer to open myself up to a connection. And then try to uplift myself through that

    Reply
  3. E-dawg Avatar
    E-dawg

    I do believe that faith without works is dead. The true test of faith is how it’s manifested in actions and deeds. Simply believing in God’s existence is not enough. There’s another book that’s pretty rad and it states somewhere in the book of James that, even the demons believe……and Shudder……!

    Reply
  4. Sabrina J Avatar
    Sabrina J

    For hope and faith to come into their full power, it takes Action. Action is the magic that makes things move. I can have faith and hope that somehow writing here will get done, yet with out the action of doing, these words are just pixels unorganized. It is by our action that we open to our HP to be active in our life. The action itself invites a response of action.

    Reply
  5. Adam Avatar
    Adam

    This weekend I have 3 days off. When I’m relaxed as I am now I’m more generous and forgiving. I feel more compassion when my head isn’t full of thoughts about what I need to be doing.

    Reply

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