The Two Wolves

Once upon a time, or so the Cherokee legend goes, a young Indian boy received a beautiful drum as a gift.  When his best friend saw it, he asked if he could play with it, but the boy felt torn.  He didn't want to share his new present, so he angrily told his friend, "No!"  His friend ran away, and the boy sat down on a rock by the stream to contemplate his dilemma.  He hated the fact that he had hurt his friend's feelings, but the drum was too precious to share.  In his quandary, he went to his grandfather for advice.

The elder listened quietly and then replied, " I often feel as though there are two wolves fighting inside me.  One is mean and greedy and full of arrogance and pride, but the other is peaceful and generous.  All the time they are struggling, and you, my boy, have those same two wolves inside of you."

"Which one will win?" asked the boy.
The elder smiled and said, "The one you feed."

          ---taken from How God Changes Your Brain, Newberg & Waldman, p. 32

The Book of Galatians puts it this way:  Live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.  For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want....Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.  ...  In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (5:16-23).

All of us have fed the "wolf of the flesh" for many years; maybe the time has come for us to begin feeding (and feasting on) the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.