An old Cherokee grandfather 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, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. 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 wins?” The grandfather simply replied, “The one you feed.”
This proverb reminds me of something Paul said in Romans 7:19-25. First I would like to share vs 19-23. “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Good and Evil is a battle that can be fought and seen externally in this world. However this fight is one that is both without and within. Inside each of us is a fight, a struggle, between that of the flesh and Spirit. A battle between that which is baser, and that which is better. To become more adept in both wisdom and skill when it comes to mastering this struggle requires time, effort, and self-control. There is a quote I like which says, “Self-Discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don’t control what you think, you cannot control what you do.”
The power and discipline of our thoughts, our mind, is paramount in controlling our actions. Henry Ford has a quote which goes, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.” We must also face a hard truth in this fight to master the flesh versus the Spirit. As Paul himself said, at times we will fail. The things that we will not to do will become the things we have done, and we will fall short of the glory of God. It always seems that in these moments of failure or mistake that we are our own harshest critic. We tend to bring about our own discouragement by focusing on our shortcomings and failures again and again like a broken record until it seems hopeless to try. Yet this is not the way.
When the walls come crashing in, nothing you do works or is good enough, and this struggle against the flesh seems hopeless. I am reminded of a simple message we all know. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). While everyone is equally guilty of having succumbed to sin, fallen prey to sin, we are also equally united by one single fact. Love. God’s love, Christ’s love which was freely given so that though we were chained by sin, condemned by sin, we might be set free for a brighter future. I am often reminded of Christs words in John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” These were not just Jesus’s words, they were His actions. He freely and willingly gave His life for our sakes because He knew that in our struggle between flesh and Spirit. Sometimes we would give in to the flesh. So we would not have to suffer eternal separation from God, Christ paid the debt for those and all transgressions. All we need do to benefit from this is to submit, repent, dust ourselves off, and try again. Paul confirms this in Romans 7:24-25, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” From this message I can draw but one conclusion. We are truly completely known and completely loved by God.
I want to share one final thought with you, a line from one of Shakespeare’s plays, Henry the V. This line is part of what is known as the St. Crispins Day speech. It goes “We few, We happy few, We band of brothers.” This is what we are. A band of brothers and sisters in Christ, united by Christ’s love and empowered by His sacrifice to daily fight the battle of flesh versus Spirit. Firm in the knowledge that though sometimes the battle may be lost, ultimately the war is won.
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