Screwtape Letters

I don’t know if you have read the “Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis. It is a compilation of letters sent from a senior devil to his nephew, a junior one. The junior devil is in charge of a new christian, and he needs help trying to keep this man from really being an effective one.

There are a few things that have hit me so far. We always focus on the “big sins”, and forget that the biggest issue out there is that slippery slope of small offenses, that take us further away from God each time we commit one. Apathy is a strong tool in the kingdom of evil. There is nothing better than an apathetic christian, one who isn’t effective in his faith, and doesn’t make any difference in the Kingdom of God. If anything, they are a negative witness because there is an absense of passion. No one is attracted to apathy.

Time wasting is something we are all so good at these days. Endless hours on social media, television, surfing the net…all add up to days/weeks wasted. I catch myself spending hours a day, wasted, reading things written by people I don’t even really respect or want to know…

“And Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man’s best years, not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, in drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off.” -Screwtape

He goes on to say that the only thing that matters is the extent to which we are separated from God. That slippery slope…! “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, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts…” -Screwtape

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”. A quote from Edmund Burke (at least attributed to him). This quote is so accurate. We spend so much time doing nothing, if anything we encourage the spread of evil, by watching, reading and spreading what is out there.

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15, 16 NIV)

I am tired of being apathetic. I have wasted many years just doing nothing. What can I do this year to change that? A fine balance of humility, and a passion for Christ. Too much humility leads to pride, at least in my case. I spend too much time in self-critique…and pride always comes before the fall!!!

Let’s see where I am next year this time. :). How about you?