An old Cherokee

10/3/12 Wednesday

          There is much on my spirit these days. Spend lots of time in prayer as I seek the answers to what I see. We live in a spiritual as well as physical world and they are inextricably entwined. When it comes to spiritual things there is a war between good and evil.

An old Cherokee told his grandson “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil. It’s anger, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego.

The other is Good. It’s joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, and truth.

The boy thought about it and asked “Grandfather, which one wins?”

The old man quietly replied “The one you feed”.

          There is no arguing the truth of this saying, though I am sure someone will try. It brings to my mind what we find in 1 Corinthians 13 in the bible, what is often called the love chapter.  

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The bible also talks a lot about what we feed ourselves and illustrates in many places the results of allowing negative or poisonous talk in. It is never good. This is part of what is heavy in my spirit, seeing the results of that negative and watching poison people with serpent tongues spread strife. Sometimes I feel helpless and unable to stop the evil I see, and know that harm will come because of it. So I pray, and pray hard.

A friend is coming over soon to help me tow the diesel to where it will get the flywheel replaced. I was going to get on the tractor but will hold that off for now.