"Inside every man, there's two dogs fighting: one's good, one's evil. You know who wins? The one you feed the most."This caught my attention because it's something I believe to be true in my own life, and of anyone that knows Christ. In fact, it reminded me of a passage in Romans where Paul describes the struggle going on inside of us between good and evil. He says this in Romans 7:22-23:
"I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me."Paul describes a tension here that we all feel: we are being pulled in two opposite directions by our old sinful flesh and the new Spirit within us. He addresses this very phenomenon again in Galatians 5:17 when he says this:
"The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. "Let me say this with all honesty: I really hope that tension resonates with you. That may sound crazy on my part, because it sounds like a terrible way to live, being pulled at by opposing forces. But it's actually an encouraging thing if we will take the right perspective: that the very fact that we are struggling is evidence that God's Spirit is in us, is alive and well, and is working to sanctify us. It's a great example of God using what seems bad to show us His good.
But back to the quote...what about feeding those dogs? Well, I believe the quote is right: we've got to feed the right dog, the right power at work within us. If we feed the evil dog, he'll be the one manifesting himself in our lives. If we feed the good one, the one led by the Spirit, we'll see spiritual fruit (see Galatians 5:16-26). In many ways, it's really that simple....feed the good dog good food, and starve the other one to death.
Before we go further, we've first got to understand that without Christ, there is no "good dog" in us. We are utterly sinful and rebellious people, who have committed treason against our Holy Creator. Our rebellion, our sin, resulted in our spiritual death, a death that leads to life apart from God on Earth and an eternity separated from Him in Hell. And there is nothing that we could do to pay the debt resulting from sin. So God, in his great love and mercy, did it for us. He sent His only Son to pay the penalty for our sin upon the cross, where "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God". We couldn't save ourselves, so God did it for us. Through His grace, He gives us the blessing of abundant life with Him now and eternity with Him in the future. And if we will repentantly believe that, turning to Christ, trusting in His finished work on the cross, surrendering to His Lordship, we will be forgiven, made new, and the Holy Spirit will live in us. This is the Gospel we believe, the only reason that there ever comes to be any "good dog" in us at all. Without that, none of this matters.
So, with that in mind, we come to the question: If I am a believer, how do I feed the good dog? Well, it's nothing groundbreaking, but it requires an incredible amount of discipline. It's necessary to feed the dog ourselves, but it's also essential that we have others we trust to feed it as well. We've got to know God's Word. We've got to know how to apply it. And we've got to actually go out and do it. We've got to pray. Always pray. We've got to abide in Christ, just being with Him, in His presence. We have to confess sin and we have to repent. We've got to serve. We've got to love. We have to disciple others. And we have to make sure we are in a community of believers where the good dog can feed and be fed this spiritually healthy food that is essential for it's growth and vitality.
And, of course, we've got to starve the bad dog, by denying the food that satisfies the sinful nature. Hate. Lust. Jealousy. Dissension. Idolatry. Self. These are what the evil dog desires. We have to deny that dog what it wants, those things it will never stop trying to get. But the helpful and encouraging thing is that the more time we spend feeding the good dog, the less time we have to feed the bad one.
The tension between the good and bad is here to stay, as long as you are on this Earth. But if we will feed this new good work inside us, following the Spirit's leading, and nailing the passions and desires of the sinful nature to the Cross, the "good dog" will consistently win out. So make the commitment today to feed that good dog. Stop giving him the table scraps. Stop letting him root around in the garbage can. Don't just tell him to "go on in the kitchen and getcha somethin' to eat" (Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation, anyone?). Be intentional: make that dog a proper, healthy meal. And do it every day. He'll be thankful you did.
No comments:
Post a Comment