keep an eye on the dark side

[Bill H]

The Scottish pulpit giant, Alexander Whyte, stood at the doorway of the Kirk, greeting parishioners after the worship service had concluded. One of his flock, doubtless touched by his preaching, gushed,� Mr. Whyte you are such a man of God!� He replied,� My dear lady if you could see into the darkness of my heart, you would spit in my face!�
Proverbs declares,� Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.� Day 26’s meditation reminds us that we are not simply to guard the flocks from predatory wolves; we are to guard our hearts against the emergence of the inner wolf.Laniak calls for “sober self-scrutiny� and vigilance regarding the inner-wolf. Paul exhorted his young mentee, Timothy, “watch your life and doctrine closely�. The shepherd can go off course in conduct or creed and morph into a wolf. This challenge not only requires sober assessment and evaluation of our lives it demands another spiritual discipline. The discipline of accountability. We all need trusted friends, who in the safety of companionship and confidentiality will lovingly probe and ask searching questions. We need people who invited, or not, will speak the truth in love to us.