Two Wolves Inside Us

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all. One is Evil. It is lust, anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith." The grand son thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

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Here's the other version of Two Wolves:
An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story.I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times."
He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way. But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing. Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit." The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?" The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed."

Eskimo Fisherman's Two Dogs

An Eskimo fisherman came to town every Saturday afternoon. He always brought his two dogs with him. One was white and the other was black. He had taught them to fight on command. Every Saturday afternoon in the town square the people would gather and these two dogs would fight and the fisherman would take bets. On one Saturday the black dog would win; another Saturday, the white dog would win but the fisherman always won! His friend began to ask him how he did it. He said, “I starve one and feed the other. The one I feed always wins because he is stronger.” This story about the two dogs tells us something about the inner warfare that comes into the life of a person who is born again. We have two natures within us, both struggling for mastery. Which one will dominate us? It depends on which one we feed.” (Billy Graham. The Holy Spirit. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1988, pp. 92-93).

A Lizard on the Sholder

     In the book "The Great Divorce" CS Lewis describes this battle within.  He uses a image of a lizard to describe the natural man or thing that we need to get ride of that prevents us from having joy.
     The Great Divorce" is about a bus load of sinners who get on a bus and drive to heaven.  Lewis had a great imagination.  All the people on the bus were on their way to see heaven and see a chain of mountains on the distance and a legions of angles come over the chain of mountains and greet them.  The people on the bus are given a choice.  They are told that first of all that where they were was not heaven, but heaven's suburbs and that real heaven was on the other side of the mountains.  They were given a choice to go to heaven or to go back to hell.  They were told that they could go to the highest most central place in heaven but they would have to give up essentially their most precious thing.
     As the Great Divorce continues no one can do it except one person. The others all get back on the bus and are unable to give up their most precious thing.  Now, this one man has a lizard sitting on his shoulder.  It's red and it talks to him, and he talks back to the lizard.  They talk back and forth.  An angel comes to this man and says, "Do you want to stay?" "Yes, I don't want to go back to Hell," then man says.  "Well, you have to give up your most precious thing," the Angel explains.  "What is it?" the man questions.  "The Lizard!" the Angel helps him understand.   "I have raised him from when he was a little lizard," the man pleads.  "Well, you will have to kill it," the Angel explains.  There is then this immense struggle between the man and the angel and the lizard.  He can't quite bring himself to tear the lizard off.  The lizard keeps trying to talk him out of it by saying, "They don't really mean it, they don't really want you in deep heaven.  You will always  be a lessor inhabitant."  The angel keeps countering each argument from the lizard until in a moment, a deep difficult moment, the man with the help of the angel reaches up and grabs the lizard.  The lizard clings to the man so tightly.  The man is afraid that if he pulls it off some of him will come with it.  But, they pull the lizard off and break it's back. The man says, "Oh I am done for and collapses in pain!"  And then something wonderful happens.  The angel touches the man and lifts him up and he rises young and strong and powerful.  They watch  the lizard rise and change and transform until a beautiful stallion appears.  The angel has the man climb on back of the stallion, and ride the horse triumphantly, over the mountains, into deep heaven because he had given up his most precious thing.

     Now what did the Lizard represent?  What is the most precious thing?  If by definition our most precious thing is that which we keep at the expense of all other things then sadly our sins are our most precious things.  CS Lewis believed that the door to Hell was locked from the inside.  God does not lock people in.  People go in on their own free will largely because they don't remove the lizard.  CS Lewis does a great job of encouraging us to fight the battle within.  What are your thoughts.