Question: How did Screwtape use what he called the “pressures of the ordinary,”   and the familiar, to “rescue” him from the influence of the Enemy?  

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7 thoughts on “The Screwtape Letters | Letter One”

  1. “ Pressures of the ordinary” are the here and now. These are things that are made to seem like they need to be taken care of or else we wouldn’t be able to go through the day. If we are kept in this mindset that these just need to get done or else, then we are kept in the vicious cycle and Screwtape will keep winning.

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  2. The pressure of everyday life has a way of demanding our attention. We all have had those moments in life where our spirit is awakened by a whisper from God and often times how quickly the distractions appear. In our current world, maybe even more so than when this was written, we have the powerful distractions of social media, 24 hour news and of course cell phones which may never leave our side. Being aware of this tactic to distract us from what God is doing in us and around us is step one.

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  3. When screwtape saw what the athiest was thinking on, he Knew he had to derail him quickly, knowing and targeting his weakness,he suggest it’s time for lunch and that he would have a clearer head after he’d eaten, which intern got him outside into more distractions. Mission accomplished.

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  4. The ordinary refers to the flesh or the world. It is what we know and where we find security. By keeping the patient focused on that will keep him from exploring his spiritual self or the part that is new and unfamiliar to him.

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  5. Our ordinary daily activities and routines can often serve as prominent distractions from God and the goals He has for us. As with the athiest, if the Devil can keep the focus of our time, energy and attention being spent on everything that is important to us except (or before) God, he is happy to assist with that. All too often, I have hesitated to act on a thought or idea that God has given me simply by saying ‘Oh, I just need to do this first!”, only to recall what I had put on the back burner as I am falling asleep that night or even days later…and sadly, it’s as easy as that.

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  6. He used distractions of the flesh to deter his thoughts. What I took away was that the enemy learns how we think and what easily distracts us and uses those very distractions to keep us away from a relationship with God.

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