TRADITION EIGHT

Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

AA will never have a professional class. We get sobriety freely and we should give it freely. Money and spirituality do not mix. Alcoholic can only be helped, if he has the desire to be helped.

We have agreed that 12th step couldn’t be sold for money. Volunteers will not work for the services of AA. They have to be hired pure and simple as service proposition and paid accordingly for their labor.

AA fellow should ask the following questions to him self regarding this tradition:

1. Is my own behavior accurately described by the Traditions? If not, what needs changing?
2. When I chafe about any particular Tradition, do I realize how it affects others?
3. Do I sometimes try to get some reward, even if not money for my personal AA efforts?
4. Do I try to sound in AA like an expert on alcoholism? On recovery? On medicine? On sociology? On AA itself? On psychology? On spiritual matters? Or, heaven help me, even on humility?
5. Do I make an effort to understand what AA employees do? What workers in other alcoholism agencies do? Can I distinguish clearly among them?
6. In my own AA life, have I any experiences, which illustrate the wisdom of this Tradition.
7. Have I paid enough attention to the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions? To the pamphlet AA Tradition, How It Developed?