Honesty is the most essential element of the program of recovery.  It starts with personal honesty and a realization that you are alcoholic.  For those wishing to work the program it starts with identifying in the first 30 days of sobriety that you are a newcomer and an alcoholic.  This is done in meetings.  The leader asks the question “are there any persons here with less than 30 days?  If so, would you please identify yourself.”  The new person then raises their hand and states their name and that they are an alcoholic.  This is not to embarrass the new person but a way for us to seek them out after the meeting and offer our support. 

If one is to be successful in the steps one needs a sponsor with whom they do the work with.  This is a close-mouthed friend who has some time in the program and has completed the steps.  This person guides us through the steps and hears our fifth step.  The sponsor serves many purposes.  They are available to talk whenever the newcomer has a problem.  They try to help the newcomer find a solution to whatever is bothering them at the time.  They may take the new person to different meetings so that they can see the differences in meeting styles.  They may go for coffee after a meeting.  A sponsor has a lot of responsibility to the sponsee and should be shown the utmost respect.

Honesty in taking the steps is indispensable to success and sobriety.  We must be honest in each step and hold nothing back.  Step 4 is where we make a fearless and searching moral inventory of ourselves.  Honesty is critical here in holding nothing back.  We are given instructions from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous on how to take this step.  The Book states that if we skip step four, we will not overcome drinking.  The written inventory is them shared with our sponsor.  We hold nothing back and are honest with the sponsor.  We may think there are some things we could never tell another human being.  Well, these things need to be shared and out sponsor has probably heard them from someone before our time.  They may have actually done them themselves! 

After taking the steps we are able to live an honest life.   No more story telling or trying to remember what we did last night.  We are honest in our actions and in out relationships with others.   And we begin to feel good about ourselves and leading an honest life.  God makes all this possible as we seek out his help and comfort through our daily prayers and meditations.