There’s an old adage about two wolves living inside of you. One wolf is vicious, cruel, greedy, and eager to attack and kill. The other wolf is gentle, graceful, kind, and eager to bring life. These two wolves are engaged in a battle, constantly warring against each other, and you have the capacity to choose who wins the fight. How? By feeding the right wolf. 

This passage begins by making a strong statement– what you let control your mind can lead to life or death. It acknowledges this same war, not between two wolves, but between our flesh and the Holy Spirit inside of us. If you let your sinful thoughts control your mind, if you feed your flesh, then you will end up constantly spiraling into behavior that not only hurts the heart of the Father, but leads to death. However, if you choose to yield control to the Spirit of God, He has the capacity to change your heart, your desires, and lead you to life. 

Before Christ came, we did not have this choice. We were slaves to the flesh and controlled by the sinful desires of that “bad wolf” inside of us; yet, through Christ, we have received the Holy Spirit Who can wage war against what once held us captive. It is no longer a question of if we can win, but will we choose to win? We have the capacity to choose who wins the fight– and we don’t have to engage in the battle ourselves. We simply have to feed, nourish, and grow the one we want to win– God’s Spirit or our flesh. Which one will you choose to feed?