I'm sorry I can't give credit to anyone for this story I'm about to quote because there is no name on it. I think I received it in an email many years ago. I share it with you today because of the profound truth it speaks.
Two Wolves
An elderly Cherokee was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, 'A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One wolf is evil - he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, lies, false pride, inferiority, competition, superiority and ego.
The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person, too.'
They thought about it for a minute and then one child slowly turned to his grandfather, 'Which wolf will win?'
The old Cherokee simply replied, 'The one you feed.'
This speaks to me of the age-old battles we all fight -
the battle between good and evil, and
the battle between the flesh and the spirit.
These two battles, I believe, are the battles we all fight every day.
And this is where the true spiritual warfare takes place - in our every day choices between
good and evil
the flesh and the spirit.
Every time we choose to do the good thing, the right thing, the loving thing, we win the battle.
Every time we choose fear over love, greed over generosity, regret over hope, etc, we lose the battle.
Whether we choose the "good" thing or the "evil" thing, we are still feeding our flesh and our spirit. They will flourish or die based on what we are feeding them.
We need to recognize that it's not just the choice between good and evil, flesh and spirit, but it's what we are feeding them that ultimately strengthens or weakens us.
If you left it up to a child (and even some adults, me included), they would choose to eat cake, cookies, candy, ice cream, chocolate, etc instead of healthy food choices. This would, in short order, cause our flesh to fail in many ways. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing. To grow a healthy body, we need to feed it things that are going to nourish and sustain it.
What we feed our spirits is doubly important. We all live with an emptiness and a void within us that constantly wants to be filled. This, I believe, is our spirit, crying out for satisfaction/salvation. I also believe the only true satisfaction/salvation comes from knowing God - God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit.
But so many people are trying to find satisfaction/salvation through feeding their spirits "junk food" - they dabble in New Age philosophies, the occult, false religions and mind games. Their spirit may be "fed", but they are still spiritually dying. The "food" will only temporarily sustain.
It does matter WHAT we feed -
the good wolf or the bad wolf
our flesh or our spirit.
But it also greatly matters WHAT we feed it.
You will find a feast when you open the Word of God. This is food that satisfies, this is food that saves, that feeds your hunger, that quenches your thirst and that fills that void.
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteouness, for they shall be filled."
Matthew 5:6
"I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide,
and I will fill it."
Psalm 81:10
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
"Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word."
Psalm 119: 105, 114
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
John 1:1, 14, 17
God's Word - the Bible,
God's Word - Jesus Christ,
breathes life into our weary souls.
It/He guides us, leads us, blesses us, feeds us, teaches us, corrects us and fills us with hope!
Living by God's Word (Jesus Christ) provides mercy, gives grace and produces abundant life!
May His Word richly feed your spirit today!
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