During my senior year we were required to read the 'Screwtape Letters' in our English 4 class. Little did I know that book would make such an impact on me. First of all, I find it so intriguing that CS Lewis would write a book from the devil's point of view. It took me awhile to figure out that "the Enemy" was actually God! It was so eye opening to see what's going on in the real enemies head. The first part that grabbed me was the fact that Screwtape was pleased to hear that Wormwood's "patient" was still a church goer. I feel like that would be considered a bad thing for the devil... but as I continued to read I learned that Screwtape wants attendance in church, prayer, and the Bible to become a habit. Not a habit that we enjoy but a habit that we've been doing for so long we no longer have a passion for it or even remember why we're still faithful to it. This thought resonates with me because sometime I get like that in my walk with God. I go to church because that's what I've been taught to do. It's a habit for me, not something that I get pumped for. I guess I want to challenge myself (and others) to not let our worship or relationship with God become a thoughtless habit.
The other thing that hit me was Screwtape's last paragraph of the letter that says, "the only thing that matters is the extent to which you can separate the man from the Enemy... Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to hell is the gradual one-- the gentle slope...". That in itself is scary to me. Screwtape is saying that the way to steal a soul is not through one drastic experience or decision, it's the mindless little pinpricks that separate us from God without us even being completely aware of it. Skipping a church service or Bible reading here and there is exactly what Satan wants! Slowly we wander so far from the shepherd that we can't hear his voice anymore. The encouraging thing is that even if we do wander, He'll go looking for us and will not stop until we're found.
Gina, good thoughts! I enojyed how you used the metaphor of God as our good shephard. It is so scary for me how to know when to differentiate between when am I not hearing His voice and slowly drifting farther away. When you talked about going to church and making it simply a habit, It makes me think back to more verses in the Bible, like the one in Revelation 3 where it talks about being lukewarm and God spitting us out of His mouth. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteLewis really takes us for a (very insightful and helpful) ride with this point of view. I remember reading somewhere that he didn't enjoy writing this book. When asked to write an epilogue to it (what became "Screwtape Proposes a Toast"), he hesitated, because he didn't like slipping into that 'mindset'again.
ReplyDeleteWhat you said about habits was great. It's so hard to avoid, because we truly are "creatures of habit." Good to know that God still seeks us out even when we wander away.
It's such a scary thought that it's the gradual road that leads us down the wrong path! However, it actually makes the most sense when I really think about it. Sudden experiences may make us get out of the funk that we are in, but the mundane nature of our lives are often what gets us the most distant from God.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how we sometimes compare ourselves with other sinners who commit what we call the big sins (murder, rape,...) and we are often relieved that we are not as fallen as they are. In reality, the road to destruction, as it says in this letter is a very gradual one, and Satan not always looking for us to do those terrible sins, he's more interested with us falling into dullness and losing sight.
ReplyDeleteI also found reading the "opposite" point of view to be a very engaging lens through which to look at the humanity of man.The way in which the "patient" is diagnosed and treated by Screwtape was quite chilling, for to me it seemed much less to do with emotion but with a chilling objectivity in which to plan the Christian's ultimate damnation. I do agree with you when you say that even when we do wander and are oppressed by the difficulties around us, we do indeed have Him as our Sheperd and He will come after us.
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