The problem with temptation is sometimes it is hard to know we are being tempted; sometimes we choose to ignore the facts that we are indeed being tempted; and sometimes we see the temptation an overcome it. The second of these is the most concerning. If we are aware we are being tempted and ignore it, what is there to say about our morals and faith?
One of the ways that we rationalize this type of sin is by weighing sins. ‘It was just a little lie, it’s not like I am committing murder or anything’ But in fact the consequences could be worse than murder. By taking that first step into sin, the Christian beings to lose the fight for the narrow path. C. S. Lewis in the 12th Screwtape letter says “he must be made to imagine that all the choices which have effected this change of course are trivial and vague.” The choice to lie once causes some uneasiness, but as time goes on (if not corrected) the choice to lie becomes easier and the uneasiness fades. This is a concept Lewis calls dim uneasiness. Slowly and gradually the Christian falls from the path of God and thus falls off the road entirely. He is no longer repenting for the lies he tells. However murders (in my very small experience) tend to go one way or the other. They either repent for the rest of their lives or don’t. There is no slow route. “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft, underfoot without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
Lewis is warns us of the weight each of our choices have. He depicts what can happen if you make only one bad choice, but he also shows a worst case scenario. This man seems to have no christian friends or family that can see the change he is going through. He has no earthly aid to pull him out of the world that is crashing in on him. Maybe that is part of the point Lewis is trying to make. We need to surround ourselves with people whom we believe have better Christian values and who will hold you to them. When we surround ourselves with these kind of people the temptations do not become easier to resist, but the choice becomes much clearer.
Thank you for bringing up the necessity of surrounding ourselves with friends. To avoid slipping into an uncaring apathy we need to have friends who are going to continually talk to us and challenge us to go further in our relationship with God.
ReplyDeleteI liked your reminder to the reader that the Christian walk is narrow. There are so many traps and turns that turn us off from God and we much be diligent in our faith.
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