Food for Thought

26.10.09 / Uncategorized / Author: admin
Tags: Act One, Book Of Philippians, Book Of Romans, Children Of God, Food For Thought, Good Evil, Helplessness, Inspiration, Law Of Sin, Murders, Natural Disasters, Pervasive Sense, positive thinking, Ravenous Wolves, Romans 8, Sense Of Fear, Things Of The Spirit, Time Children, Tragedies, Violent Crimes, Wolves, Worthy Of Praise

There is a Native American story about a young man who consults an elder for advice. The young man explains that he is constantly at war with himself, and feels like there are two ravenous wolves living inside him, each demanding his attention and urging him to act. One pressures him to do good works, focus on serving others, be honest, and stand up for what is right even if it makes him unpopular. The other pressures him to focus solely on his own needs, see others in terms of how they can serve him, twist the truth or withhold information when it suits his purposes, and go along with the crowd in order to be liked. He is troubled by the constant conflict between the two, and asks the elder which one will win out. The wise elder replies, “The one that you choose to feed.”

As a Christian, naturally this story reminded me of Paul’s words in the book of Romans: “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin…” (Romans 7:21-23).

Ultimately, as Paul goes on to point out, only God through Christ can rescue us from this “body of death,” but at the same time, children of God are called to “set their minds on the things of the Spirit” and to do so “is life and peace.” (see Romans 8:5-17)

We are also advised in the book of Philippians, “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

What we think about matters; our thoughts create our emotions and help shape our actions. These days, it seems like we are constantly bombarded with bad news: murders and other violent crimes, natural disasters, rising unemployment, wars, and other tragedies. There is a pervasive sense of fear and helplessness, along with a survival mentality that encourages hoarding resources instead of sharing them.

We can choose to feed our minds more nourishing food, however. Instead of watching the nightly news, we can watch inspirational true stories or videos showing the beauty of nature. We can read success classics like Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, which provide case studies of remarkably successful people, demonstrate how their thoughts led to their success, and suggest specific steps we can take to train our minds to think like that (for your free copy, click here). We can listen to motivational tapes or inspiring music. We can study God’s Word, pray, meditate, and gather with other believers for fun and fellowship.

Which wolf will you feed today? What activities, books, or other resources help you think positively? Please share your thoughts.