They say there’s a grain of truth in every joke. If that’s true, C.S. Lewis’s satirical classic, The Screwtape Letters, should have all of us taking a good long look in the mirror.
The premise of the book revolves around a man living during the time of World War 2. This man is unbeknownst to the multiple demons fighting to corrupt his soul into the eternal damnation of Hell. As I turn each page I picture the classic depiction of an angel on one shoulder, a devil on the other. Perhaps the red horns, tights and tail of the iconic devil in our minds makes it just comical enough for us to brush off as make-believe, but is it?
C.S. Lewis shines light on some of our greatest flaws as humans. It is interesting that we tend to associate the devil with temptation, when in actuality the road to hell isn’t much of a road at all, but more of a stop sign. If you think about it, the devil tells us what NOT to do more than what TO do.
“Don’t.”
There is a lot of power within this four-lettered contraction.
Think about all of the things you make excuses in your head to not do which are truly good for you.
Don’t workout, sleep-in instead.
Don’t go to church, keep watching tv.
Don’t eat that salad, these chips are so much better!
Are we sure money is the root of all evil, or is it complacency?
To think, if we could just silence that little excuse maker in our minds, we would be unstoppable!
“You can’t.”
That’s another game changer.
“It’s too hard.”
The list goes on.
“Other people can do that, but not you.”
Now I’m not saying all this negativity comes from the devil, but I’m also not saying it doesn’t…
All I’m saying is that perhaps there’s a reason people are still talking about this religious satire originally published over 80 years ago. Afterall, eternity never goes out of style.