Spiritual Survival in the Modern World

Insights from C. S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters

Swafford

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781498295215
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

In this work, Dr. Swafford opens up the wisdom of C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters. From challenges at home, evangelization, overcoming anxiety, doubt, prayer, and becoming other-centered--these and many other struggles a Christian is bound to face show up in these pages. What unites this book is Swafford's ability to untwist the demonic plan to keep us down and bring us to despair. Truly, this work provides a roadmap for spiritual survival in the modern age, one that will empower us to live a life of joy and peace right now.

Chapter 1

Letter 3: Domestic Hatred

We begin the story in letter 3, where the patient has just recently become a Christian. What is so striking about this particular letter is that we see here the paramount importance of the “little things”—that the dramatic battle of each of our lives is very often won or lost in the day-to-day, in the ordinariness of life. For Lewis, such events are far more important in our walk with Christ than we realize. As spiritual writer Jacques Philippe puts it, “The first steps on the ladder of sanctity could very well be those of my own apartment.”1

The patient is living with his mother and Screwtape advises Wormwood to stir up “domestic hatred” between the two, by which he means the typical family strife that often erodes bonds within a family.2 In the story, the man has just begun to take his Christian faith seriously, while the aging mother is a nominal Christian at best. Needless to say, they are not on the same page and there is tension between the two.

Being Preoccupied

Screwtape advises Wormwood to keep the patient’s mind focused on the “inner life,” both with regard to himself as well as his mother. What this means in practice is that his attention will be continually turned inward, making him less and less concerned with lovingkindness toward his mother; and when he thinks of his mother, he’ll be focused on her inner spiritual life (or lack thereof) and will therefore be less and less compassionate with regard to her physical suffering (which happens to be rheumatism). Screwtape writes, “Keep his mind off the most elementary duties by directing it to the most advanced and spiritual ones.”3 This sounds paradoxical, but it is deceptive for that very reason: the more the man concentrates on himself and the growth of his own inner sentiments, the more he misses the obvious—namely, the charity Christ expects of him for those immediately in his care—in this case, his mother. Screwtape explains:

You must bring him to a condition in which he can practice self-examination for an hour without discovering any of those facts about himself which are perfectly clear to anyone who has ever lived in the same house with him or worked in the same office.4

As is so often our experience, the people right in front of us are those who most easily “push our buttons”; they are the people we find it most difficult to love on a consistent basis. After all, where do we “let our hair down”—at home or at work? Usually, we put on a happy face at work and all too often give the worst version of ourselves to our families.

The man’s focus on his interior life—even his perceived interior growth—ironically hinders him from actively living out these Christian virtues; in other words, a theme throughout this book is that the demonic strategy is to get us focused on ourselves—preoccupied with ourselves—as opposed to turning outward in love of God and neighbor. This makes us spiritually narcissistic and less and less available to those around us—making us less and less free to love.

As we’ll see, the Christian life is one in which we “forget” ourselves—our egos, desires, ambitions, fears, and insecurities—and concentrate more and more outwardly on love of God and neighbour, thereby becoming less and less self-absorbed. Thus, the Christian life enables us to enter more fully into the lives of those around us.

We know what it feels like when this doesn’t happen—when we feel like the person with whom we are speaking is not “really” listening; they can’t get past their daily tasks or concerns and truly enter into our world. For to truly enter into the world of another—asking someone how they’re doing and really being concerned with their genuine response—is not all that common; we know how painful it is when it doesn’t happen. This is why it’s such a tremendous act of Christ-like charity to put our own concerns aside and sincerely enter the experience of the other. And perhaps nowhere is this more difficult to do on a consistent basis than in the context of everyday family life.

For Screwtape, directing the man’s focus in prayer on his mother’s inner life keeps his attention fixed on her perceived inadequacies—and not on her physical ailments—cultivating more and more frustration with her, and less and less pity for her painful condition. Screwtape writes: “Make sure that they [his prayers] are always very ‘spiritual’, that he is always concerned with the state of her soul and never with her rheumatism.”5 This will have the effect of keeping his mind on “her sins”—by which “he can be induced to mean any of her actions which are inconvenient or irritating to himself.”6

Notice how the man’s ego has become the barometer of good and evil, the measuring stick of his mother’s “sins.” This is the result of the turn to self: everything is measured by how it makes me feel; there is no room left for a sincere concern for the other—only for how it affects me. That is, there is no room for genuine love.

Domestic Hatred

Screwtape then turns to the dynamics of living together. When we’re on a mission trip, or a retreat (both of which are extremely good in themselves!), we tend to perceive directly that we are living the Christian life; we are moving in the right direction and growing closer to our Lord. But as mentioned above, our real mettle—the heart of our character—is very often tested the most right where we live, in the ordinariness of day-to-day life.

I have known countless students over the years who have had dramatic conversions to Christ; and surrounded by fellow Christians at the college, they are on fire and thriving; but when they go home, they find themselves out of place and disappointed with the lack of fervor in their own families. I tell them that some of their biggest and most important battles will be fought at home; this is where the devil will test us the most—but this is also where we often least expect it and are therefore least prepared.

I often tell my students that this won’t go away when they are married. They tend to have a sense that they’ll meet another fervent Christian and the two of them will prayerfully live a Christian marriage of bliss and happiness, having none of the problems of “unbelievers.” What they are often unprepared for is the real human dynamic of marriage and family life. In their ministries and apostolates, or in their secular professional life, lots of people will tell them how great they are and how wonderful they’re doing. But such is seldom the case in the nitty-gritty of family life—of changing diapers and paying bills, of compromise and making hard decisions.

When you get down to the brass tacks of living together in married life, you see what someone is really made of from the inside out; I often tell my students that marriage is when your spouse will see you at your worst and love you through it. And this is the beauty of committed married love. But this doesn’t give us a “pass” to give our spouses our worst; we should give them our very best, and the practice of giving our best doesn’t grow up overnight; rather, the habits we form in the day-to-day eventually become the norm for us, as is the case with any athlete practicing a certain craft or skill. After all, what do coaches constantly say?—you play how you practice. In this sense, practice makes—if not perfect—more and more permanent.

Screwtape (unwittingly) shows us the importance of growing in the human skills and Christian charity necessary to liv...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• A Letter to the Reader
• Chapter 1: Letter 3: Domestic Hatred
• Chapter 2: Letters 8 and 9: Avoiding Despair
• Chapter 3: Letter 10: Real Authenticity
• Chapter 4: Letter 11: Joy and Sarcasm
• Chapter 5: Letter 12: The Safest Road to Hell
• Chapter 6: Letter 13: The Sadness of One’s Ego
• Chapter 7: Letter 14: Humility and the Accuser
• Chapter 8: Letter 15: Anxiety and False Peace
• Chapter 9: Letter 17: Gluttony and Charity
• Chapter 10: Letters 18 and 19: The Philosophy of Hell and the Mystery of Love
• Chapter 11: Letter 21: Stewards, Not Owners
• Chapter 12: Letter 23: Faith, Doubt, and the Historical Jesus
• Chapter 13: Letter 27: Prayer and Reason
• Chapter 14: Letter 29: Courage and Suffering
• A Closing Note
• Appendix: Setting Captives Free: St. Ignatius on Overcoming Desolation
• Bibliography