One parable describes a conversation between an old man and his granddaughter.

“Each one of us has two wolves that live inside of us,” counseled the old man. “One is good, and the other is evil. And one of them will win.”

“Which will win?” asked the little girl.

“The one you feed.”

While the story is apocryphal, the point is practical. We all find ourselves as the feeding ground for competing ideas. I David heard the growls. Abraham felt the clawing. Even Jesus, alone in the arid desert, listened to the howls of the battle.

And the answer is still the same. The one that wins is the one that gets fed.

Too many people keep giving handfuls of food to the wrong beast. They watch “just a little” of what should never be seen. A little lie, a harsh word, and a clever justification hands a sirloin to the evil nature. It then grows emboldened.

While Peter changes the image, he makes the same point.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him…” (1 Peter 5:8–9)

Resist. Starve evil, and it dies. Feed the devil, and he strengthens.

It is our choice. We feed the good or feed the wicked by the simple everyday actions we choose.

Which wolf gets fed in your life?

-Robert G. Taylor-