Week 6: The Screwtape Letters - Adjusting Focus

"Men are not angered by mere misfortune but by misfortune conceived as injury.  And the sense of injury depends on the feeling that a legitimate claim has been denied.  The more claims on life, therefore ... the more often he will feel injured and, as a result, ill-tempered."

Letter 21 deals with our having a sense of "ownership" of things, such as time.  Most of you have probably heard me tell about the watershed moment I experienced several years ago while reading the Missions to the Military magazine from the Hammons.  There was an interview with a young man who had just found out he was being deployed to Eastern Europe.  [This was before the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts, a time when military men did not expect to be deployed into hostile areas.]  I think the young man was only around 20, but his response to this unexpected interruption in his life showed great spiritual maturity.  He said, "I can't wait to see what God has planned for me!"  That's when it hit me ... he wasn't complaining that this was an interruption in his current service for God ... he wasn't agonizing over whether or not serving in Eastern Europe was God's will for his life ... he saw every step of his life being controlled by God.  He just kept walking faithfully and expectantly.  He was a willing, alert tool ready to serve wherever and whenever God might choose.  What a lesson to learn!  Living my life this way means seeing the opportunities God places in my path, instead of rushing on to the next thing on my 'to do" list.  That telephone call in the middle of lesson prep isn't an interruption, it's an opportunity to use God's Word to comfort or exhort someone.  My husband needing me to show him how to do something on his computer isn't an interruption, it's an opportunity to demonstrate my love for him. My child's rebellious sin isn't a frustrating, maddening interruption to getting my housework done, it's an opportunity to teach him or her godly truth.  My "late" arrival at the grocery store isn't an interruption to my schedule, it's an opportunity to witness Christ to a lady I "happen to bump into" who needed someone to talk to.  Overhearing a conversation in the library while reading a book isn't an interruption, it's an opportunity to teach the Bible to two young women who have lots of questions and very little knowledge.  What a difference it makes when you look at life that way!

In Letter 22, we see Screwtape and Wormwood's relationship deteriorating further as they jockey for position, with Screwtape suffering a rather humorous "meltdown" at the end of the letter.  Wormwood's patient is slowly growing in spiritual maturity and is now in love with a committed Christan woman.  Screwtape does not take the news well!  It's interesting that he speaks of her home as having a "deadly odour" which rubs off onto others.  A family walking closely to the Lord, living out their faith in their relationships with each other positively affects all who come into contact with them.  There's a God-honoring goal for you home ... and mine!

"...it will be quite impossible to remove spirituality from his life.  Very well, then; we must corrupt it."  Screwtape to Wormwood

Letter 23 reveals a change in strategy.  If Wormwood can't turn the patient away from worshiping Jesus, then he suggests changing the "Jesus" he worships into something other than what Scripture reveals Him to be.  This strategy is certainly alive and well today!  If you've never heard of The Jesus Seminar, read the following excerpt from wikipedia.  I think it's good to be aware of movements like this so that we don't misunderstand when we hear people talking about the "historical Jesus".   They're not merely referring to the fact that Jesus existed in history, they are applying human reason to the Scriptural portrayal of Jesus, voting on what they think is true and what they think is false, rather than accepting Scriptural revelation as written.

          The Jesus Seminar is a group of about 150 individuals, including laymen and scholars...

             The Seminar uses colored beads to decide their collective view of the historicity of the

          deeds and sayings of Jesus of Nazareth...

          The seminar's reconstruction of the historical Jesus portrays him as an itinerant Hellenistic 

          Jewish sage who preached a "social gospel" in startling parables and aphorisms.  An 

          iconoclast, Jesus broke with established Jewish theological dogmas and social conventions

          both in his teachings and behaviors, often by turning common-sense ideas upside down, 

          confounding the expectations of his audience... the fellows argue that the authentic words 

          of Jesus indicate that he preached a sapiential eschatology, which encourages all of God's

          children to repair the world.

So, in their view, Jesus died to "repair the world".  That certainly is not the message of Scripture! It's true that Christians have historically had a significant moral impact in the world, that has been a secondary side effect, not the primary focus of the gospel.

Letter 24 targets the danger of novice believers developing spiritual pride.  "It is always the novice who exaggerates... the young scholar is pedantic."  In his interactions with his girlfriend and her family, who are further along in their Christian walk than he, Screwtape writes, "He has no notion how much in him is forgiven because they are charitable and made the best of it because he is now one of the family.  He does not dream how much of his conversation, how many of his opinions, are recognized by them all as mere echoes of their own."  Reading that brought a blush to my face as I recalled what I was like as a new believer in our weekly Bible study.  It's a good reminder of the importance of patience when interacting with new believers, particularly opinionated ones!

For someone new to the faith, I'm not sure the sudden contrast between being with believers and being with the world can be maneuvered through quickly and easily.  There's a time of adjustment as a new believer begins applying his new world view.  At first the contrast between the saved and the lost seems overwhelming.  He may find himself frustrated with the actions and opinions of unbelievers, and feel safely cocooned among his Christian family.  Christian radio often exacerbates the problem of "us" and "them".  But as time goes by, you realize it is unjust to expect Christian behavior from the those who do not possess the Holy Spirit.  At that point I think you begin to see the lost as God does and you look for opportunities to reach them with the gospel, instead of condemn them for their unbelief.  It's a process most of us went through, may in fact be going through right now.  Eventually you become solid enough in your Biblical understanding that you respond with compassion instead of anger, and you have a great desire to teach God's truth and help people realize their great need and Christ's provision.

[Week #1; Week #7]