Today's Lenten Meditation: Which Wolf Do You Feed?

There is an old Cherokee parable used to teach their children about good an evil.  The parables states that each person is born with two wolves in consuming turmoil fighting to be in control inside each of us.  The lesson concludes that the wolf which we feed more, the one we love more, will be the wolf which directs our lives.  The parallel of this legend aligns to the consequence of Adam eating the forbidden apple, thrusting humanity on a road requiring us to know good and evil; the lesson is not lost on us.  The Indian parable is what’s more instructive because it places the responsibility of our destiny squarely in our hands.  We choose which wolf to feed.  So, I ask, “Which wolf do you feed?”

Without any hesitation we will likely answer the “good wolf”.  Surely such a reply reflects our desires or at least our knowledge of the “right answer”.  Are we being truthful if we answer so quickly?  What does it really mean to “feed the wolf”?

When we feed an animal, we express a love toward it. The more we nurture and care for it, the greater our love is expressed through our actions.  Love is not a static emotion; it cries out for action.  Similarly, hate is equally dynamic and demands action.  But there is an important difference besides the obvious antithesis of the two.  That difference is that love requires a relationship of selfless giving often without consideration of the self, while hate requires only greater self-empowerment and its ability to express power on others.  Mark these words carefully.

So which wolf are you feeding?  You are likely feeding both wolves, but one will be favored over the other.  We are told, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:21, Luke 12:34)

Many of us may not recognize when we feed the “evil wolf” for the Deceiver uses many lies to confuse and cause us to stray.  He will use our emotions to make us feel self-righteous and possessors of truth.  He will encourage us to commit actions in congress with his objectives and contrary to the Creator.  One may think that it should be a simple choice for we know exactly the nature of Love, the path of the “good wolf”, as stated by the Word:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  (1 Cor 13:4-7)

So, with these characteristics and understanding in mind, which wolf is fed more?  When you watch news to inflame your emotions, when you re-post hateful speech on social media, when you drive the wedge of hate on a guise of justice and truth, which wolf are you really feeding?  When you ask to discuss something and when tempers flare, you calmly ask to take some time to “cool off”, which wolf are you feeding?  Do you express love to those that hate and revile you?  Do you hate and revile others especially the nameless “those” of potentially many and even countless?  What words do you utter against or for your fellow brother and sister?  Do you judge?  Do you condemn?  Do you leave your troubles at God’s feet, and prayerfully ask what you should do to help His will become real?  So which wolf are you feeding more?

When you feed the “good wolf”, you must also act in accord with Jesus’ way: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34) and know that if you abide in Him you will not break His laws as the Spirit has spoken, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” (Heb 10:16)

So, which wolf will you feed more from now on?