I recall watching a movie a while ago where one of the characters made a profound statement " Every individual has two wolves inside (them), a good wolf and a bad wolf. Be careful of which wolf you feed" . These words (may not be exactly the way it was said so pardon my memory) are indeed weighty. They summarise the battle for supremacy that is ever constantly ranging within every individual.
The characters, traits exhibited or deeds done by any individual at a given point in time is a function of which wolf is dominant at that time. By implication it is a function of which wolf the individual has been literally feeding in the run up to that point in time.
Often times I have seen criminals at the point of being caught attempting to transfer the blame for engaging in crime to other persons and even on some occasions attempting to blame the devil . Several questions arise when criminals attempt to heap the blame on the devil:
Which security agency is capable of tracking and apprehending the devil?
Is there any court of comepetent jurisdiction that can try the devil?
Lastly who will be the devil's advocate
Surely the devil will his day in court, certainly not one presided over by men but by the Lord of the entire universe. We can only hold accountable mortals who commit crimes. That is the natural order of things. Agreed that external factors such as the environment, media the individual consumes and company one keeps may play a role in influencing the deeds of an individual, the individual has to bear the burden of the consequences for his or her actions or deeds.
The reason is that if an individual realises that consuming certain kind of media, keeping company with certain persons or frequenting certain environments leaves them vulnerable to evil and still persists on such path, then such individual cannot be said to be free of blame. Such individual is certainly feeding the evil wolf and it is only a matter of time before, the evil wolf reigns supreme. For such person, the dominance of the evil wolf is only a matter of when and not if.
When it comes to the issue of the two wolves that lies within, we humans can be likened to the simpleton description of a computer, garbage in and garbage out. Implying that the output (evil or good) one exudes or gives is a function of the input the individual consciously or unconsciously received.
At the point of commiting an evil deed or act irrespective of the amount of external pressure, the individual has a powerful asset in his defense arsenal against the pressure. That weapon is choice. The choice to do evil or refrain from it lies in the hands of the individual. Similarly the choice to do what is good still lies within the grasp of the individual.
This explains why it is possible to find a cop in a family full of criminals and vice versa. It is also the reason why in the midst of mass perpetration of evil like the Holocaust, there were Germans who were beacons of hope for the persecuted who aided those fleeing persecution to safety. Same can also be said about the Whites who stood up against racism in the United States or against apartheid in South Africa.
In the final analysis when it comes to doing or being good or evil, it is a matter of choice or choices that have been made over time. So ask yourself after reading this piece, which of the wolves am I feeding?
"Surely he succeeds that purifies it and he fails who corrupts it"
Indeed the one who literally feeds the "good" wolf will attain success while the one who feeds the "bad" wolf would have failed the examination or test called life.
Shukran
Danke
Merci
Gracias
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Спасибо
for reading.
Of course there are two wolves in a man. They are not in conflict, only when one overcomes it brings either good or bad to the person. It is important to think about what is important and make wise decisions. We don't know the evil is rooted in some people. I agree that feeding a good wolf can only bring good to a person.