Step 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
According to the textile industry, “A defect is an unwanted feature in a product, or absence of a desired feature or a feature existing in distorted or wrong way.”
A defect can also be a glitch, error, flaw, an irregularity, even a bug.
All repairable. All worthy of improvement. A defect has nothing to do with a reject.
The 12 Steps introduced me to the reality—I had character defects. Before that, I believed my spouse was the only one with “issues”. What surprised me further was how denial coached me to justify my codependent character defects.
For instance, my perfectionism in wanting my husband and family to be picture-perfect didn’t mean I was nagging. I was just trying to make them be the best they could be.
Neither did I see my gossiping as negative. Every codependent knows we are better informed and able to see others faults. I wasn’t spreading dirt, I was informing.
When I gave denial the boot and faced my many defects I learned I was and am not a reject, a scrap to be tossed or rebuffed.
With the help of my Higher Power, I am recoverable slip, after slip, after slip, after slip.
But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. 9 And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits (Colossians 3:8-9 CEV).