Who gets fed?
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
I was reminded of an old story:
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life:
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil–he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
We all have decisions to make, every single day. Which aspect of our life are we going to feed? Are we going to feed our hunger for physical comfort, our hunger for mental entertainment, or our need for spiritual growth? All of these things are important in some regard, but only one promises to take care of the other two. If we believe that the scriptures are the holy inspired Word of God, and we believe that we can place our trust fully in the one true God, and His Son, Jesus Christ, then we must also believe His instructions to us: In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” But what are ‘these things’? Back up a couple of verses and you see in verse 31: “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” We aren’t to focus on physical things. We are to concentrate on God and He will make sure that our physical needs are met. Philippians 4:8 reminds us: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” If you read the surrounding verses, Paul urges us to refrain from needless worry and give our Lord our full attention and peace will be our blessing.
All you have to do is give it a try. Put your focus solely on our Lord, put Him first, give Him the preeminent position in your life, and you’ll see. It seems like a daunting prospect. Just change everything your life is currently focused on. For me, it was something I considered, and was very fearful about for weeks. I fought the conviction to surrender with everything I had. I had all kinds of arguments within myself. I had long talks with the Lord about why I was alright the way I was. About why I was unfit for anything He might want me to do. I brought up all of my past failures and paraded them in front of the Lord as proof that I was not the kind of person He wanted working for Him. Turns out, He was well aware of all of it. It may very well be the fact that I have failed Him that makes me the witness He wants. It’s easy to look at someone who has worked for the Lord all their life, and has no unsavory past to hide and see why they would work for God. They are pure and unblemished. When you look at that cracked vessel and see the detailed work that goes into making it usable again, His might and power is so much more visible. He is able. He is able to use you… regardless of your past, regardless of your sins, regardless of how far you’ve fallen. You are still desirable to Him. But he wants all of you. Every broken piece, let Him have every single piece and watch as he creates a usuable thing of beauty from all that pain that you’ve endured in your life.
Who are you going to give yourself to? This world? It’s on its last legs, and we can all see it. This world is full of pain, and grief, and and anger. It’s fallen and sinful. Or you can give yourself to the One who created and gave us a perfect world before we spoiled it with our sin. The answer lies in which of the two wolves you choose to feed. Choose Him. Let Him have 100% of yourself and allow your eyes to be opened to the incredible hope that we have in Him.
