Our pastor told a story many years ago that has stuck with me about feeding the flesh or feeding the spirit.
There once was this man who had a very strong dog. He had raised the dog from a tiny pup. He had fed it, cared for it, and nurtured it. In the course of time, the dog grew and grew... and became very strong and muscular. One day, the man brought home a tiny white dove he has discovered somewhere along the way. He was so excited about caring for this bird. He got it a cage and set it up in his living room. He was fully aware that his dog might not like the bird but he figured if he kept the bird up high enough and kept them separated enough, there shouldn’t be any issue. How wrong he was! At first, the dog did nothing. He just laid and stared at the bird. He watched the man as he cared for the bird and tended to its every need. However, the closer the man got to the little bird, the more jealous the dog became. It was as if the man had forgot about him! The man was so consumed caring for the dove, he began to neglect the dog. The dog began to try to attack the bird every chance he got but fortunately, for the dove, most of the time, he was in the cage. The owner would scold the dog and shoo him away. Now the dog was very angry! One day, when the man walked across the living room to feed and care for the bird, the dog lunged and attacked the man himself!!! In the struggle, the cage fell over and the door sprang open. The dog grabbed the little bird and he viciously mauled it. The dog had become so strong than the man himself could no longer contain him or constrain him. He was too powerful for the man! The man was heartbroken - his little dove was wounded and very close to death. Somehow, he got the bird away from the dog and returned it to its cage. He tried to grab the dog’s collar to drag him from the house but he was no match for the dog... The dog was too strong!! He couldn’t get him out !! He knew the bird needed his care but he couldn’t tend to the bird like he needed to because of the fear of repercussion from the dog. He didn’t know what to do... suddenly, it came to him. The only way he was going to be able to get the dog under his control again was to make the dog weaker so he could handle him. He quit feeding the dog entirely. A few days went by, and the man started to nurse the little dove back to health and each day, with his constant care and ministering, the little dove began to get stronger and stronger!! While all the while, the dog began to grow weaker and weaker until one day, he became so weak that the man was able to once again get ahold of his collar and he proceeded to drag him out of the house.
In this story, the dog represents our flesh, and the fragile dove is our spirit... The two can’t not coexist!! As the Bible reminds us, ‘No man can serve two masters....”
You will serve/feed one or the other.
Another good example is:
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, which is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. “The other is good, which 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 simply replied, “The one you feed.”
But we must not make provision for the flesh. We must not feed the bad wolf/strong dog any longer.
Paul said “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
To make provision for- to feed the flesh, is like saying it is okay to sin a little bit everyday; God understands. I say ‘nay’!!
When you do that, you are feeding the bad wolf/strong dog- and you will not have victory in your life, and you will not be ready when Jesus comes back. God gives the Spirit to all men freely when they repent and are truly sorry for sinning and desire to be free from sin. The Spirit will give us the power to starve the bad wolf/dog and set us FREE from sin. Praise God for that!
“Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkeness, not in chambering and wantoness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”Romans 13:13-14
Provision: the providing or supplying of something, especially of food or other necessities.
This scripture is telling us, “Do not feed your flesh anything. Do not provide anything that will keep it alive.”
But we have a part. We must feed the Spirit and starve- mortify the flesh. ( Romans 8:13 )
There is no neutral ground in this spiritual walk... There is only two options... if we aren‘t consciously caring for the Spirit, we are, by default, feeding the flesh!—Not to feed the spirit is to automatically feed the flesh. It’s not necessarily doing evil things and this is where we, as Christians, have been deceived in our thinking.
We think to live a worldly/carnal life is to do certain things that are ‘bad or evil’ or to do things that we’re explicitly told not to do in the Word of God but in reality, that’s not all there is to it. It is as simple as not feeding the ‘new man’, the new heart— the spirit. By not feeding it, you are allowing the flesh to increase.
You never arrive at a place in this life where the you can ever say—I won this battle forever ! It’s a constant struggle.The flesh is weakened but it never truly dies. Which is why Paul said in one place, “I die daily!” The flesh is like a raging lion. You never fully kill the lion.. You can cage it, you can starve it—and you must—but it’s always looking for a way out. It’s always looking for an opportunity to regain the supremacy and it’s always there until we’re out of this world.
That’s why it’s so important to allow God to have full control in our lives... we need HIS help to keep the flesh (the lion) killed out daily.
How to feed the Spirit:
Submit to God wholeheartedly
Surrender your will to HIM
Read the Bible daily
Pray without ceasing
Love His Word
Keep you mind on Him
Meditate on His Word
Listen to good, Godly preaching
Listen to anointed singing.
Surround yourself with Godly fellowship (your best friends can’t be sinners or carnal Christians. You must have people around you that will encourage you to feed the Spirit! )
Don‘t allow bad thoughts or bad feelings to dwell in your mind—Give them to God
Keep a guard over your mouth
Intentionally do stuff that you know the flesh doesn’t enjoy but God enjoys! It will continue to boost your Spirit.
Remember in ourselves we can’t do it! We must submit to the Holy Ghost and allow him to have full reign over our lives—to help us do what we can’t in ourselves.
Let me encourage you!! Let’s start feeding the Spirit and allowing God to have HIS way in our lives!! There is no greater peace and happiness than to know you are right with God and you are allowing Him to lead you and you are submitting to His authority!!
-Tiphanie
How truly this is. I think our flesh is the worst enemy of all !