The Battle

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV)

A story attributed to the Cherokees:

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about the battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between the two 'wolves' inside us all.

"One is called Evil. It is anger, jealousy, envy, greed arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, superiority and ego.

"The other is called Good. It is 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 old Cherokee replied simply, "The one you feed."

Good story. And we know it's true. But couldn't we also say the same of our "inner" and "outer" selves? It seems to me that most of us spend an absurd amount of time feeding our outer selves. This consists of all the things we create to make the image we want others to see: clothes, hairstyle, make-up, surgically altered bodies. But there is more to our "image" than just the bodily stuff. There is also: the car we drive, the house we live in, the vacations we take, our toys, our bank accounts, etc.

We KNOW we feed our outer selves... often to the point of gluttony. How well do we feed the inner person? And WHAT do we feed it? Are we feeding it a constant stream of popular media from t.v., internet, newspapers, magazines, movies and radio? This is all junk food. Junk food in moderation won't hurt, but if it is our whole diet, it will kill our inner selves.

We need to feed that inner person on whole foods like worship and prayer. By reading good things like the Bible and good books on living the spiritual life. We need to feed the inner self with helping others and working for justice.

Which is winning in the battle of inner and outer self in you? What can you change to tip the balance a little more in favor of the inner self? Make one smaall change. When you see what a big difference it makes to your inner self, you will be encouraged to change more.

Lord,
Forgive us for getting so caught up in what the world expects of us that we forget what you desire for us... all the better things of life. Help us to make one small change today. Amen.

Joys: seeing a familiar and missed face at church yesterday; beautiful Carolina weather; on-line chats with Richard