Which Wolf Are You Feeding?
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“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:19-21).
There’s an old fable about a Cherokee Indian elder who was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, “A fight is going on inside you. It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight going on inside of you is inside every other person, too.”
The children thought about it for a minute, and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee elder replied simply, “The one you feed.”
A Rabbi expressed it this way: “The two wolves symbolize the Evil Inclination (Yetzer Hora) and the Good Inclination (Yetzer Hatov). The former thrives on bodily appetites, while the latter thrives on Torah, prayer, and good deeds. Eventually, one swallows the other.”
Paul talked about in his letter to the Galatians, telling them to live by the Spirit, and not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. He said the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.
In case the Galatians didn’t know how to identify these traits, Paul spelled them out: sexual immorality, impurity debauchery, idolatry witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. And then he went on to enumerate the fruits of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Reading this causes me to take inventory of my inner self. Clearly, I can see the two wolves within me. Clearly they are in competition. Clearly, on my own I have not the ability to triumph good over evil from within. But the wonderful part of the story is that through the Spirit of Christ, I can overcome all things and I can be the kind of person God uniquely created me to be. I can be all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Heavenly Father, Help me to take an honest inner inventory today. I want to be the person You created me to be. I want to model all that You are to me. Fill me with Your Spirit and help me to feast on the things that will bring joy to Your heart and mine. I ask this in the name of Jesus’ amen.
Question: Which wolf have you been feeding lately?
About this Author John Grant
Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Begin! Just Begin!, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog
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if I may please make a correction. the sentence that reads: ”I now experience all of ”Yetzer Hora’s traits” should of course read “”Yetzer Hatov’s traits. {inadvertently made a typo error}.(one should always proof-read before hitting send ergo I am not perfect)
thank you John for in this devotional we are reminded that we are not in any way, shape or form perfect
at one time I was the ‘Yetzer Hora’ and as to which traits? if I said all of them or just one or two of them, should I be looked upon any differently to the Lord my God? the Holy Spirit saw me for me and today is instructing me in obedience to His commands. I now experience all of ‘Yetzer Hora’s’ traits one day at a time. as it says in 1 John 1:9-If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Outstanding devotion, John — thank you for reminding us to choose ‘whom we will serve!’ (Joshua 24:15) And, speaking of ‘wolves,’ we Christians must be alert to false teaching/prophesying, as there appears to be a number of false teachers and prophets becoming increasingly popular among evangelicals, spiritualists who want to change the doctrine of Christianity and reconstruct faith. Universalism is a wolf in disguise, and Christians must be discerning about what is Truth, according to God’s Word, and what is counterfeit spirituality. (read Galatians chapter 1, 2 Corinthians 11:1-6) Scripture warns us that in the endtimes, even believers will be confused and misled by false preachers/teachers of The Word, who distort God’s Word to make it more all-inclusive and less offensive to those who are perishing. May we remember to pray diligently for our brothers and sisters, as well as the lost, that they would ‘have ears to hear,’ and hearts that are drawn to Jesus, the Christ, the One Who is the Author and Perfector of our faith! (Heb 12:2)
This is another Devotional that is right on the mark..always applicable and absolutely words to remember each day. Sometimes you must make the effort to remember every minute possible in the day as the wolf you aren’t feeding (dissention etc) clamors for attention. Thank you for this Devotional today.