The Screwtape Letters were written by CS Lewis as a fictional (I hope) account of a Senior Demon teaching a Junior Demon (wormwood) in the ways of destroying the human spirit. In the passage the Patient (a human being) has had some thoughts of a spiritual kind including the ideas of repentence. What does this passage mean to you?
The great thing is to prevent his doing anything. As long as he does not convert it into action, it does not matter how much he thinks about this new repentance. Let the little brute wallow in it. Let him, if he has any bent that way, write a book about it; that is often an excellent way of sterilizing the seeds which the Enemy plants in a human soul. Let him do anything but act. No amount of piety in his imagination and affections will harm us if we can keep it out of his will. As one of the humans has said, active habits are strengthened by repetition but passive ones are weakened.
The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel!
Your affectionate uncle,
SCREWTAPE
What connection is Lewis trying to make about our spiritual life and growth?
Have you ever experienced this in your own life?
How is the true, how is it not true?
What kind of things would Screwtape be most concerned about if YOU were his patient?Email Subscription: