When does Love and Tolerance become apathy? (one of my sponsor's favorite questions)

When I stop speaking the Truth in meetings...

When I am more worried about hurting people's feelings, than carrying the Message of Hope...

When I dilute the clear Message of recovery, for fear of stepping on someone's toes.

When I hear error and I don't speak the truth to the newcomer because old so and so has much more sobriety than me...

When I don't step up to help around my group because someone else has always taken care of that in the past...

When I say "If it isn't broke don't fix it, or we have always done it that way"  I don't care how long we have done it, does it conform to the Principles and Traditions or not...

When "change scares me"

When I am tossing out wore out one liner's instead of hope.

When I would rather ignore something one of my sponsees is or isn't doing rather than to hold them accountable...

Apathy is a seemingly easier, softer way.  But I hate the consequences of it.  For me apathy always starts with "How is this going to affect me"  "What are people going to think about me"  right back to selfishness.

True love, is loving someone enough to tell them the truth.  Tolerance is allowing other people to be themselves.  Neither one of which has anything to do with letting sick people run an AA meeting or group.

Make no mistake about it, those meetings don't belong to anyone person or group of people, they belong to God, as He expresses Himself in our group conscience.  It is a place where we get to share the Hope and Power of God's Grace. It is the only thing we have of value to share.  I can't save a newcomer and the old "dry" dude with multiple years of sobriety can't kill him.  But the Message of Hope can save the newcomer if I am not too loving and tolerant to share it.

My first sponsor told me AA is about getting pissed off and getting over it.  He never patted me on the butt and told me just keep coming back, 90 meetings in 90 days.  He told me if you don't do this work and have a Spiritual experience this disease will kill you.  He told me I can show you how to do this.  Then he took my hand and walked me through this work. He told another old timer in that room that he was trying to kill me with that just don't drink today and come back tomorrow BS.  And thank God cause when I hit my bottom and went and got seperated from alcohol for the last time, guess which one I went running to when I got back.  Thank God he didn't have apathy.  He had experience with this spiritual program of action.