It is almost a pity that many of us give in to that little voice that begs and pleads with us to give up when we are incredibly close to achieving the one goal that we set out to do. For some, this voice is much more active and for others it is sheer utterance that has no force. This voice is said to be that of our inner most sensitivities, others say it is not of our own making. Yet it is us who falls and obscenely mocked and tormented by that voice. What if I told you that voice is not alone within you? What if I told you it was one of two voices? Would you believe me? This reminds me of an Old Cherokee Legend the “Tale of Two Wolves”:
An old Cherokee chief was 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, self-doubt, and ego.
"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
"This 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 chief simply replied,
"The one you feed."
How amazing it is that our elders were wizened beyond their years. This tale brings to life these voices in our heads as the good wolf and the evil one. The grandfather’s advice to his grandson about them is that he is able to control them by controlling what he feeds to them. In a world surrounded by constant negativity, it's no wonder why negativity abounds so greatly. Yet, Our Father in heaven tells us, “…But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,” (Romans 5:20 NIV). Is this not amazing?
That little voice in our heads is not the only one vying for our attention, Our Father’s voice is there waiting for us to engage with Him. He gives us the opportunity to listen to Him or to run from Him. Listening to Him allows us to grow in Him and to thrive, whereas the other voice is from the Evil One, yes from the demons. Discerning these voices are important and, for lack of better wording, are a Life and Death matter, for Our Father is the King of Life whereas the Evil One is the Prince of Death. We must turn toward God always, yet there will be times of failure, it is these time where He will be with us all the more embracing us and loving us beyond our imagination. The Evil One wants nothing but to mock and scorn us, to berate us and terrify us. Who will you choose? As for me, it’s the one I shall feed.
