The one that’s fed wins

I once heard of a notorious gambler who, desperate for revenue, would organize dogfights. He owned two dogs, a ferocious Doberman Pincer and a docile German Shepherd and every weekend this man, would pit one dog against the other, establish the odds, and collect money from persons who bet on their favoured dog. Most weekends, not surprisingly, the ferocious Doberman would win while on other weekends the docile Shepherd would pin down the Doberman rendering him helpless.

A regular loser of money at these fights became curious and asked the gambler the reason for this seemingly inexplicable change in each dog’s nature. The notorious one chuckled and revealed his secret, “During the week, I feed one dog and starve the other, the one that’s fed wins. It’s that simple.”

We, human beings, all have two natures within us, one has to do with our flesh and the other, our spirit. And just like the dogs in that story, the one that’s fed wins. It is indeed that simple.

This built-in duality represents the fight between our flesh (selfish desires, sinful nature) and the Spirit (Divine nature, spiritual nature). In his letter to the church at Galatia, Paul wrote, 

“…everything the flesh desires goes against the Spirit, and everything the Spirit desires goes against the flesh. There is a constant battle raging between them that prevents you from doing the good you want to do.” – Galatians 5:17 (VOICE)

So as a solution, Paul gave these instructions, “walk in the Spirit, and let the Spirit bring order to your life. If you do, you will never give in to your selfish and sinful cravings.” – Galatians 5:16 (VOICE)

The prodigal son was one who gave into his “selfish and sinful cravings”, he reached to a point of actually desiring to eat the food of the pigs he was feeding. It was at this lowest point of need that he “came to himself” and chose to return to his father, who had an abundance of food that would be beneficial to him. He realized that at his father’s he would be well-fed and receive proper nourishment (see Luke 15:11-17).

Proper food that will sustain and nourish your spiritual nature comes only from your Father in heaven through His Word – spoken, written, and of course Jesus, Himself the Living Word of God (see John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1-2). When you feed on the Word your spirit is fed and you partake of the Divine nature but when you feed on the world the flesh is fed and you are actually feeding the sinful nature. 

When in John 6:32-59, Jesus told the multitude about the heavenly manna, they were only mindful of their physical gratification, their next meal, but Jesus was pointing to Himself as the real food that was necessary.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (v 35 NIV)

When they caught on to what Jesus was really saying, they began to walk away, something a lot of us do even today. Will you also walk away when what you’re hearing seems too ridiculous to be true?

The things of the flesh do not comprehend spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:14), they’re in constant opposition and therefore are not bedfellows. One must defeat the other; one must die, one must be starved while the other is fed. The choice is yours; which one will you feed? 

Before you decide, know that in order to remain in God’s presence you must allow the flesh to die. If however, you choose to feed the flesh and “enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25), know that it is short-lived and you will experience spiritual death, separation from God and eventually, physical decay (see Romans 8:12-13).

The notorious gambler gambled with his poor dogs’ nature; are you willing to gamble with yours? Which nature will you feed, keep in mind that the one that’s fed wins.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “The one that’s fed wins” © 2017 revisited November 10, 2025