Standing Against the Devils Schemes Lessons from C

Standing Against the Devil’s Schemes: Lessons from C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters January 15, 2020 St. Philip’s Church The Rev’d Brian K. Mc. Greevy, J. D. , Facilitator

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. ”

Why study The Screwtape Letters today? --Lessons on understanding the battle --Lessons on thinking Christianly and developing a Christian worldview --Lessons on the psychology of temptation --Lessons on habits to cultivate that deepen faith in Christ --Lessons on living a boldly Christian life

The Importance of Habits “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. ” Letter XIII “Only when your habits are constructed to match your worldview do you become someone who doesn’t just know about God and neighbor but someone who actually loves God and neighbor. ” Justin Earley, The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction

Habits to annoy the Devil from Letter X: 1. Choose your friends wisely—you become your friends. 2. Cultivate authenticity and speak the truth in love. 3. Remember daily that your faith requires you to make choices. 4. Live purposefully, avoiding the seduction of worldly vanities. 5. Cultivate an integrated life rather than a spiritual/secular split. 6. Be deliberate about living out your priorities.

Habits to annoy the Devil from Letter XI: 1. Avoid constantly surrounding yourself (in person or virtually) with scoffers. “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers” (Ps. 1: 1). “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character. ’”(I Cor. 15: 33) 2. Cultivate Joy—it is connected with Music and Heaven and surrounds the believer with a cloud opaque to Satan. "Our mouths were filled with laughter, out tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them. '" (Ps. 126: 2) “Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. ” (Is. 51: 11) 3. Plan regular times of Fun that promote love, fellowship, courage, and contentment. So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (I Cor. 10: 31) 4. Avoid the use of humor and sarcasm as a socially acceptable mask for cruelty to others: “…almost anything he wants to do can be done, not only without the disapproval but with the admiration of his fellows, if only it can get itself treated as a Joke. ” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. ” (Mt. 7: 12) 5. Flee from Flippancy—learn to recognize it and do not allow the Devil’s armor to attach to you. Flippancy defined: frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking in seriousness; characterized by levity, especially with respect to serious or sacred subjects. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the angel of the church in

SCREWTAPE LETTER XII MY DEAR WORMWOOD, Obviously you are making excellent progress. My only fear is lest in attempting to hurry the patient you awaken him to a sense of his real position. For you and I, who see that position as it really is, must never forget how totally different it ought to appear to him. We know that we have introduced a change of direction in his course which is already carrying him out of his orbit around the Enemy; but he must be made to imagine that all the choices which have effected this change of course are trivial and revoca ble. He must not be allowed to suspect that he is now, however slowly, heading right away from the sun on a line which will carry him into the cold and dark of utmost space. For this reason I am almost glad to hear that he is still a churchgoer and a communicant. I know there are dangers in this; but anything is better than that he should realise the break he has made with the first months of his Christian life. As long as he re tains externally the habits of a Christian he can still be made to think of himself as one who has adopted a few new friends and amusements but whose spirit ual state is much the same as it was six weeks ago. And while he thinks that, we do not have to contend with the explicit repentance of a definite, fully rec ognised, sin, but only with his vague, though uneasy, feeling that he hasn’t been doing very well lately. This dim uneasiness needs careful handling. If it gets too strong it may wake him up and spoil the whole game. On the other hand, if you suppress it entirely—which, by the by, the Enemy will probably not allow you to do—we lose an element in the situa tion which can he turned to good account. If such a

reluctance to think about the Enemy. All humans at nearly all times have some such reluc tance; but when thinking of Him involves facing and intensifying a whole vague cloud of half conscious guilt, this reluctance is increased tenfold. They hate every idea that suggests Him, just as men in financial embarrassment hate the very sight of a bankbook. In this state your patient will not omit, but he will increasingly dislike, his religious duties. He will think about them as little as he feels he decently can be forehand, and forget them as soon as possible when they are over. A few weeks ago you had to tempt him to unreality and inattention in his prayers: but now you will find him opening his arms to you and almost begging you to distract his purpose and be numb his heart. He will want his prayers to be un real, for he will dread nothing so much as effective contact with the Enemy. His aim will be to let sleep ing worms lie. As this condition becomes more fully established, you will be gradually freed from the tiresome business of providing Pleasures as temptations. As the uneasi ness and his reluctance to face it cut him off more and more from all real happiness, and as habit renders the pleasures of vanity and excitement and flippancy at once less pleasant and harder to forgo (for that is what habit fortunately does to a pleasure) you will find that anything or nothing is suffi cient to attract his wandering attention. You no longer need a good book, which he really likes, to keep him from his prayers or his work or his sleep; a column of advertisements in yesterday’s paper will do. You can make him waste his time not only in conversation he enjoys with people whom he likes but also in conversations with those he cares noth ing about, on subjects that bore him. You can make him do nothing at all for long periods. You can keep him up late at night, not roistering, but staring at a dead fire in a cold room. All the healthy and outgoing activities

The Christians describe the Enemy as one “without whom Nothing is strong. ” 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 not 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 fud dled to shake off. You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. 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, with out milestones, without signposts. Your affectionate uncle SCREWTAPE

Habits to annoy the Devil from Letter XII: 1. Be aware of your spiritual trajectory –take stock on a regular basis. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10: 22 25) 2. When you experience “dim uneasiness” spiritually, pray that God would open your eyes and lead you to any needful repentance. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139: 23 24) 3. When you experience reluctance to enter God’s presence, remind yourself of the truth of Scripture expressed in the parable of the prodigal son. So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. ’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. ” (Luke 15: 20 24) 4. Invest in healthy and outgoing activities that lead to joy and avoid isolation. The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. (Proverbs 13: 4) Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to

Truths about spiritual warfare to glean from Letter XII: 1. Be aware of the power of Nothing as used by the Devil. 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 not 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 fud dled to shake off. 2. Satan is much more likely to rely on a slow and gradual turning away than on spectacular sin. You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. 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, with out milestones, without signposts.

“Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys. ” Screwtape Letter VIII