The Screwtape Letters – Humility, Hope, and Happiness
Maintaining a transparent relationship with God.
Have you ever made grand resolutions to God after backsliding in your faith? We might resolve to quit cussing or stop being so self-centered. We might promise to become humble in our place before God. As we mature in our Christianity, we learn about grace and forgiveness and, eventually, about true humility. It is in this virtue of genuine humility where we can maintain a transparent relationship with God.
So, what is true humility?
In letter fourteen, Screwtape (Head demon of Hell) is concerned because Wormwood’s (Screwtape’s nephew and intern of sorts) Patient (a human seeking to convert to Christianity) has discovered real humility.
True humility is rooted in self-forgetfulness, not in a low opinion of ourselves. Fake humility causes us to focus on ourselves. In this fixation to find fault with our God-given character and talents, we have turned our attention away from God and toward self. We have once again unwittingly stepped onto the Enemy’s camp.
By this method thousands of humans have been brought to think that humility means pretty women trying to believe they are ugly and clever men trying to believe they are fools. – Screwtape
How often have I fallen into this way of thinking? Self-deprecation seemed like a way into godly humility. But God calls us to have no opinion of our God-given talents. According to Romans 12:15, we are to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” When we achieve a balance of celebrating the way God created us and at the same time celebrating our neighbor, we have humility because it is here where the focus is first upon God and then upon loving our neighbor as ourselves.
The Law of Undulation
C.S. Lewis describes the Law of Undulation as the highs and lows, the mountaintops and valleys of life. He points out that we experience these peaks and troughs in every area of our lives as humans. We will see these ups and downs in our work, family, friends, affections, physical appetites, and faith.
God uses our valleys, our tough times to create in us perseverance. With this perseverance, we will be able to become mature and complete in our faith. As Screwtape puts it in Letter 8, “In His(God’s) efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks.”
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
It is a sign of a mature faith when we do not rely on God to simply fix our circumstances during hard times. This is the perseverance of faith that makes no sense to others. When we can say, “It is well with my soul,” even if we don’t know if our circumstances will ever change here on earth. It is in this place where others can encounter God through our display of faith.
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
Managing Emotions While Maintaining Hope
In letter 30, we find Screwtape scolding Wormwood and calling him an utter failure. The Patient has just survived an air raid on his town. His service to his country was carried out well as he did everything demanded of him and more. Our Patient is frightened and thinks himself a coward and therefore feels no pride. The only victory Wormwood was able to produce in our human was a burst of ill temper with a dog that tripped him up, some excessive cigarette smoking, and forgetting to pray. This will never be enough to bring the Patient into the Father’s (the devil) house.
Screwtape uses fear to manipulate Wormwood. There is no mercy or grace given in the demonic world. When we fall or are frightened, God gives us grace when the battle of life gets too hard. The Lord does not scold us but encourages us. There is no fear in God, only perfect love. (1 John 4:18)
Our beloved human is worn out, tired, and feeling disappointed. Fatigue is good fodder for temptation. When I am exhausted, I begin to feel I have the right to certain things like peace and quiet, an easy life, or a good meal. I can throw a righteous temper tantrum demanding instant relief. But these feelings are false, and I do not have the right to all my human desires.
Wormwood is advised to start feeding The Patient false hopes. To make him start looking for the air raids to stop, hoping for a good night’s sleep, and wishing for the war to be over soon. How can false hopes be a danger to us as Christians?
I can understand how easy it would be to pray for such things. However, when our hopes are based upon our human desires, especially when we are exhausted, they don’t always line up with the righteousness of God.
Whatever men expect they soon come to think they have a right to: the sense of disappointment can, with very little skill on our part, be turned into a sense of injury. – Screwtape
Screwtape admits that demons are comforted when we get angry and throw a temper tantrum. But according to Romans 5:3-4, we are to rejoice in our sufferings because this is what brings about perseverance, character, and hope. True hope is rooted in our faith in God.
The devil knows the moment you are ready to give in to temptation. He whispers in your tired ear to open a bottle of wine for comfort. He wants you to binge the gallon of ice cream to calm your worn-out nerves. He knows the moment you are ready to quit is usually the moment right before a miracle happens. Rather than trusting God’s Word as fact, the tempters want you to rely on your emotions.
It is through the grace of God that we can manage our emotions while maintaining hope. Sunshyne Gray, in her article 5 Ways to Manage Your Emotions, reminds us that our “Emotions come from our thoughts, attitudes, opinions, desires, and beliefs. Those things come from our heart.”
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9
Sunshyne goes on to tell us, “Emotions are better signals than guides. God uses our emotions to bring Him glory. Whether you’re joyful and singing praises or overcome with sorrow-He uses emotion to draw us closer to Him.”
When we feel emotional, we can ask ourselves: Am I going to allow my emotion to guide me into sin, or am I going to pay attention to the signal and take the opportunity to draw closer to God?
Humility, Hope, and Happiness
Today we have learned true humility comes when we recognize how God created us but resist self-promotion in favor of lifting our neighbor. We encourage others in their faith when we allow them to see our ability to praise and obey God in ALL circumstances. And finally, knowing happiness comes from using our emotions to draw closer to God
Heavenly Father, thank you for the lessons we are learning through the book, The Screwtape Letters. I ask for you to anchor your truths I am learning into my soul. I praise you for showing us how to practice humility, giving us grace and encouragement when we are tired, and for using our emotions to draw us closer to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Next Week
Join us next week as we finish up our series on The Screwtape Letters. We will learn ways to maneuver hard relationships and discover how to mark the red flags of backsliding in our faith.
