Step Four

Accept that this Higher Power is understood in different ways and by different names in various religions and cultures, and open our lives to hearing the Divine Voice in any way it chooses to communicate to us.

The struggle to name that which is un-nameable has created problems for our world. People have fought, killed, died, and sacrificed their lives in the name of their higher power. Perhaps if we had one name that everyone could agree upon we could solve most of the world’s conflicts and end wars. But even the attempt to agree upon a single name could create the opposite effect and generate more fighting, killing, and needless sacrifices.

The solution is not in choosing one name, but in honoring all the names that we have. Language is so varied that at times we can’t understand one another without an interpreter. But with variety and diversity also comes more beauty. To describe love in the English language presents problems because we only have one word for love. But love is complex and has different meanings depending on the circumstances. Are we talking about parental love or marital love?
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Some languages have more than one word for love. Should we argue and fight another person because their language is different than ours? Of course not. Instead we celebrate the variety of meanings and the new insights that each language offers. The same is true of the divine being, or beings, that religions love and worship. Same Divine, but many names. When we open our minds and our hearts to the language of Love, we can getter a clearer perspective of The Divine.