{"id":832,"date":"2007-05-02T16:05:00","date_gmt":"2007-05-02T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/godspolitics\/2007\/05\/jim-wallis-feeding-wolves.html"},"modified":"2007-05-02T16:05:00","modified_gmt":"2007-05-02T16:05:00","slug":"jim-wallis-feeding-wolves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godspolitics\/2007\/05\/jim-wallis-feeding-wolves.html","title":{"rendered":"Jim Wallis: Feeding the Wolves"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past weekend, my wife Joy Carroll Wallis was the commencement speaker at Goshen College in Indiana. She began with a story:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

My hope today is to equip you with a warning and commission that might be helpful as you set out on this journey, as you begin the next chapter of your lives. So I want to tell you a story. One evening, an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, \u201cMy son, the battle is between two \u2018wolves\u2019 inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, fear, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other one is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

The grandson thought about this for few minutes and then he looked up at his grandfather and asked: \u201cWhich wolf wins?\u201d The old Cherokee simply replied, \u201cThe one you feed. The one you feed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Joy said,<\/p>\n

You see, just because you are all set with this fabulous educational and spiritual experience here at Goshen, it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s easy or plain sailing from here on in. Most people assume that if we can get this life thing and how to live it figured out in our heads that we\u2019re fine. At college, we often believe we can think our way into a new way of living, but that\u2019s actually not the way it works. In reality, it\u2019s more likely that we will live our way into a new way of thinking. And that\u2019s the challenge before all of us. It\u2019s all about the choices and the decisions that we make \u2013 making the right choices, feeding the right wolves, and it\u2019s something we will all wrestle with for the rest of our lives, even on a daily basis.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then she challenged the students:<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just ask the question, \u201cDoes this career path bring me job satisfaction?\u201d Ask, \u201cDoes it bring meaning?\u201d and the Christian question is, \u201cDoes it contribute to the building of God\u2019s kingdom?\u201d Don\u2019t just go where you are directed or invited. Don\u2019t just do something because you can \u2013 but try and make the connections between your talents and gifts and your deepest values and beliefs. Go where your moral compass leads you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can read the entire speech, “Feeding the Wolves<\/a>.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past weekend, my wife Joy Carroll Wallis was the commencement speaker at Goshen College in Indiana. She began with a story: My hope today is to equip you with a warning and commission that might be helpful as you set out on this journey, as you begin the next chapter of your lives. 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