Step 3 · Tradition 3 · Concept III
The decision to trust
Trusting God with my will, trusting a stranger's desire to stop drinking, trusting a servant's judgment: all one act of faith.
Step 3 · Recovery
Faith
Choosing to let a Higher Power direct our lives
Read Step 3 at aa.org (opens in a new tab)Tradition 3 · Unity
Identity
Wanting to stop drinking is all it takes to belong
Read Tradition 3 at aa.org (opens in a new tab)Concept III · Service
Decision
Trusted servants may use their own judgment within their role
Read Concept III at aa.org (opens in a new tab)The Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts for World Service are copyrighted by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Read them in full at aa.org.
The thread
Step Three is a decision to stop running the show and let God’s care direct our lives. Tradition Three makes the same leap on behalf of the group: we trust that anyone with a desire to stop drinking belongs, no credentials required. Concept III asks the Fellowship to trust its servants with a Right of Decision, letting them use judgment rather than binding them with instructions on every point. Each is a decision to let go of control and extend trust.
Where it shows up
An alcoholic making the Third Step decision is admitting that running every detail herself was the problem, not the solution. A home group lives the same decision when it stops asking whether a newcomer is really an alcoholic, or sober enough, or the right sort of person, and simply says welcome. When a group sends its GSR to an area assembly, Tradition Three’s trust becomes Concept III’s Right of Decision: the GSR hears the discussion, learns something the group did not know, and votes her conscience rather than a rigid instruction carried from home. Delegates at the Conference do the same, and the trustees in turn are trusted to act on Conference advice without a committee hovering over every detail. Faith in God, faith in the newcomer and faith in our trusted servants are three expressions of the same willingness to let go.