One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside of people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealously, 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 grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed!” (Author unknown)
Life on earth is a constant battle. Every minute of every day we are face-to-face with choices. These choices are certainly not always easy, but we are equipped!! God has armed each of us with so many talents. God has given our gifts to us. They are not within us to be hidden, and they are not within us to be used for selfish reasons. God gives our gifts, for the glory of God! I have always been someone who is willing to listen to others, and many times I have the opportunity to give crucial advice to the people I listen to. What if I used each of those experiences as a time when God could work through me?? These gifts that we have can help others not only in a worldly fashion, but also in finding God! Our Father wants a 100% return on his investment in our lives. Just as Jesus speaks about in the parable given in Matthew 25: 14-30, we are not meant to hide these gifts from the world. Burying these gifts for you, or hiding them from others is a dream come true for the devil, and he is waiting to pat you on the back for doing so. How is it that we can give God a 100% return on his investment? We simply surrender to Him. We use the gifts we have been blessed with for the glory of His kingdom, and we submit to His will. God grants some the gift of encouragement, others the gift of money, the gift of being outgoing, or the gift of relating to the shyest of shy. We are called to reach out to everyone in the world, and we are blessed in a million and one ways to do so.This effort can cause struggles in countless ways, and to keep this up for a lifetime sounds incredibly hard at first thought. But what is this life in the scope of eternity?? It is a spec, and what God has for us is so much greater than what we can fathom. SO MUCH GREATER!!! The pleasures of this world can’t even touch the pleasure of God’s grace and love!! So, what would happen if we submitted to His will? What if we embraced our gifts, and used them to foster joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith in those we meet? Our chance to follow God’s plan for our lives never leaves us. So take ownership, choose knowingly, and love endlessly. God bless!
