Don’t Feed the Gator!
by Tanya Person
Recently we had an alligator on our property that was not afraid of people. This gator would come toward people rather than the normal behavior of being afraid and moving away from people. We had to call out the alligator removal people to come take the gator away. When they came, they said someone had been feeding the gator and that was why it was not afraid.
One morning God dropped into my spirit that there is a spiritual parallel for us to recognise in our own lives. We frequently teach about the importance of feeding our spirit so that it gets stronger. When we feed our soul by doing things that make us feel good without thinking about the spiritual consequences, then our soul grows stronger and our spirit weaker. Whatever we feed grows.
We don’t know who was feeding the gator. It may have been someone in the area where it used to live before coming to our pond. Whoever it was, they did not know or think about the consequences of their actions. I’m sure they did not realise they were putting themselves and others in danger by making the gator unafraid of people.
Our actions always have consequences. It is important that we don’t just do things spontaneously without knowing if it is what God wants us to be doing. As our scripture for today says, we need to walk by the Spirit. Also, Romans 13:14 says, ‘Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.’
What are the desires of the flesh? Maybe we think of the obvious sins like sexual sins or addictions, but there are also more subtle desires of the flesh like gossip and pride. Each one of us needs to ask God what our own desires of the flesh are that we need to stop satisfying so that we can be controlled by the spirit.
Look at what is written in Romans 8:5-6 (NLT): ‘Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.’
I want to have life and peace rather than death! I’m sure you do also. So let us choose today to identify the ‘gator’ in our life and stop feeding it. Rather, let us feed our spirit by thinking about the things that please the Spirit.
Here is a prayer suggestion to get you started.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I confess that I have been feeding my flesh by (be specific here). I realise that this is a sin and leads to death. I want to stop feeding that and start feeding my spirit by thinking and acting the way You want. I know I cannot do this on my own, so please help me. I surrender to You and Your will. Amen.
Tanya Person Tanya and her husband, Jim, were missionaries to Hungary for over 18 years. They have worked with Ellel since 2005. After serving in various positions with Ellel in Central and Eastern Europe, God led them back to the United States, where they are now serving with the Ellel USA team. They have a passion to see leaders restored, the church discipled and walking in God’s fullness of life and freedom, and for mentoring the existing and developing team. Tanya also enjoys crocheting and knitting in her free time and has written some children’s picture books.
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