In a well-known English play, the protagonist is facing martyrdom. In trying to determine what his course of action should be, he is tempted in various ways, and the greatest temptation is to do what he believes God wants him to do, but only because he wants the same thing himself:

The third temptation is the greatest treason:
To do the right thing for the wrong reason.

Does this seem a little abstruse, a little academic -- not really part of our everyday spiritual life? When we start to think about it, we may find that we succumb to this temptation very frequently ourselves in our practice of Steps 3 and 11. We pray for God's will and we sincerely believe that that is what we are seeking. But all too often there is a hidden prayer there: God, please make your will be what my will is. Please tell me you want me to do what I want to do.

A sincere practice of Steps 10, 11 and 12 can alert us to this tendency. Increasingly, we become aware of our covert, self-serving agenda. Increasingly, we find that we must surrender our own desires completely as we walk further along our spiritual paths.