The Better Wolf

You may have heard the Cherokee legend about a grandfather and the advice he gives his grandson.  The legend goes something like this:
A Cherokee tells his grandson about a fight that is going on inside himself.  He said it is between two wolves.
One is evil: Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, fearful thinking, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other is good: Joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"
The Cherokee simply replied, "The one I feed."

I was recently reminded of this legend the other day as I was on a road trip with my family.  That morning as we were trying to leave, my husband had acted in a brusque manner… “Business Mode” we call it.  You know, how we can sometimes get when we are in a hurry to accomplish a list of things to do, there are three small children to wrangle, and wintry road conditions that would keep most people at home?  In the midst of “stewing” over my hurt feelings, our five-year-old, Leif asks a question.  One of those questions that make a parent dig deep and pray for the right answer.  As I am racking my brain for the right words, Jeff answers our son with a word picture pulled from his favorite Pixar movie, a verse from the Bible and finishes off with encouragement that spoke to our son’s heart.  I looked back at Leif and saw a satisfied grin spread across his face.  

“Wow!” I thought…what a turn of events.  In a few seconds I went from feeling anger toward my husband to being so proud I could cry.  I decided to trade my dung-colored glasses for rose-colored ones and view my husband in a positive way.  This decision changed the course of the day and the more I thought on the good things God had done through Jeff over the preceding week, the better I felt.  

Luke 6:45A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.It is easy for us all to “feed” the evil wolf when it comes to our relationships and even to ourselves.  We can tally up wrongs committed, ugly words exchanged or annoyances to where all we see is the bad in another person.  We can do this with our children, spouse, friend, co-worker, boss, or our brothers and sisters in Christ.  “Majoring on the Minors” can keep us from seeing the world and those around us as God intended.  However, dwelling on the good can transform everyone and everything we see.

I like how the Easy-To-Read version of Romans 12:14-15 simply states it,
The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them.  The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear.  The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children.

Prayer:  Abba Father, You are wonderful and gracious.  Thank you for all the good things that are happening around me.  Thank you for the way you grow my husband and my kids…and I thank you for letting me see this!  Help me, like Mary to store up the “goods” in my heart.  Help me to have eyes to see the blessings, and let me have a heart that is led by your Spirit.  I love you.  Amen.

Dana Jaworski
Anchor Point, AK