The Reality of Our Follies

Isn’t it strange that as humans, though we are undoubtedly made in our Creator’s image, we have much more of an ease to embody that of our Creator’s enemy? 

You might be thinking ‘wow, thats a really negative thought process Amanda,’ but let me explain…

I recently finished an excellent literary masterpiece named “Screwtape Letters” by the distinguished C.S. Lewis. In this novel, Lewis interestingly takes the position of a demonic tempter in the life of a man during WWII. In this position, he shows at just what lengths the spiritual forces within this world will twist, distract, and attempt to pull you away from anything that resembles that of the Lord’s teachings. It shows the follies of man and just how the enemy will exploit those follies to pull you further and further away from Christ. 

At the end of the book, C.S. Lewis makes a quite brilliant remark that the piece of literature shows a lopsided view of reality. While these darker forces are surely at work in our lives, there is another force at work as well. That is the work of the Lord’s beckoning on the soul of a man.

While the reality of a two-sided war remains true to this day, he goes on to remark the inability of a man such as himself (or any man that is) to attempt to mirror and communicate the workings of the realms of heaven. He remarks “every thought would have to smell of heaven” a feat he claims, and rightly so, he would be unable to do. 

In an interview some time after releasing his novel, Lewis said that writing this book was a spiritually exhausting practice. Making all the bads ‘good’ and the goods ‘bad’ took a toll on him spiritually that I don’t think he recognized at his writing’s inception. While he admits that writing the book was “easy to twist one’s mind into a diabolical attitude,” it was draining; so much so that he forfeited to write a sequel to his highly acclaimed novel. 

Proving that he was a man that cared far more for his spritual fervor than his fame.

This got me thinking, as Lewis often does, of the reality that twisting goods and bads have on the souls of men. If simply thinking this way for a literary purpose had such a strain on Lewis’s spiritual attitude; think about the implications twisting goods and bads have in our moral realities. 

How exhausted the soul would be. 

But then, I look at our world, namely our society, and there is such an unrestful mark upon our generation. We seem to have reached a level of ‘civilization’ that would deem itself one of the most innovative, scientifically advanced, and progressive societies in history. Yet we have forfeited our moral compasses for that of philosophically intelligent, and we have become less civilized as a result. 

Differing opinions cause a division between friends, discipline is no longer seen as a necessity of life and rather a sin upon it, we have lost the ability to see the value of life, and we are building up a generation of emotionally unkept humans because we were not wise enough to insist upon truth. The twisting of goods into bads and vice versa has created a world that may be easier to deal with, but is producing weary humans.

As humans, it is unfortunately an easier desire to follow that of our Creator’s enemy- but at what price? And are we willing to pay it? I fear that in a generation who favors the ideas of comfortability and self-satisfaction; we have forgotten the oldest principle that most times, what is the hard thing is the right thing. An idea I have to remind myself again and again. 

Our attitudes might be inclined for justifying the bads of our humanity, and we might even think that to be the more virtuous action to take. However, we must not be so quick to believe that because it feels good it is good. God created morality and he is the author of all goods and bads that must be followed. We are not more compassionate, just or merciful than God and his ways are always perfect- even down to what may seem hard. 

We would be wise to take a lesson from C.S. as he nobly walked down a path of spiritual exhaustion that painted a mere picture for us of the cost we pay for twisting God’s truth time and time again. I pray for this weary world’s soul as it seems to be doing a uniquely specific job twisitng the goods and bads of humanity. My prayer is that we not forgot that we have been created for a purpose, and as the same that a fish, though beautiful and unique, would suffer immensely if given the duty meant for a hammer, we also suffer immensely when straying from what our purposes truly are. His burden is easy and his yoke is light- let’s strive for more of his rest in a world that is tired.