Two Sides

This morning St. Paul reminds us that we all carry two forces within, one for good, the other for evil. They seem to fight each other as long as we have breath. "For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want." (Rm 7: 19).  It's almost as if we have a split personality: the outer person is the good one publicly viewed and acclaimed, but the hidden shadowy person with base and unseemly thoughts and desires does not, thank God come into the public eye, but certainly makes us wonder who we really are.
Edgar Allen Poe's, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based on this dichotomy and the classic 1920 silent film starring John Barrymore is a graphic, frightening depiction of the destructive power of that inner evil. if allowed to reign freely.  Dr. Jekyll runs out of the antidote to Mr. Hyde and finds himself a victim of his unbridled evil tendencies.  "Mr. Hyde has killed Dr. Jekyll" a colleague proclaims.  So it will be said of us if we do not encourage our "shadow side", but emphasize the good that we show to the public.  Perhaps our prayer should be, "Lord, help me to BE (through to the core), my public self,  that person which people see."
Bro. Rene