7 thoughts on “The Screwtape Letters | Letter Two”
-
That one can never be good enough to stay in the enemy’s favor. But, one could also say that one might think that they are too good to be in the enemy’s camp.
-
The goal is to keep a follower of Jesus looking at everyone else and their shortcomings and never their own. I said many times prior to coming to know Jesus as savior that “I’m not going to church with a bunch of hypocrites”. I was clearly duped. Never coming to the realization that I am a hypocrite as well, since I did not even live up to my own standards! If focusing on others shortcomings continues, we will fail to grow, simply because that is a pride issue and pride puts us at odds with God. Proverbs 3:34
-
When the patient has a spiritual awakening in Christ he still remained vulnerable to the “world”. The physical church can create an opportunity to think in the flesh and make judgements about others instead of focusing on your personal walk with Christ. It is therefore an opportunity to satan to continue to create distractions of the world
-
Politics. The enemy wants you to see people for how you first perceive them. He uses your emotion to judge others rather than approaching others in love. He wants to distract you with seeing the worst in fellow man.
-
When we engage in this behavior we are once again distracted from why we’re there
In first place, to Worship and serve the Lord and to be loving and kind to each other. Instead we become trapped with our own thoughts and agenda and stop growing as a Christian . Screwtape loves it. -
I think some people expect Christians to lead perfect, sinless lives and when that doesn’t happen, they are judged and ridiculed as hypocrits. For non-believers and new Christians alike, it can be enough to make them deny God’s existence altogether. I have witnessed that some of the harshest critics of Christians are other Christians! Likewise, some people think they could never live a ‘perfect’ life, so they just give up entirely. We need to remember that we are all sinners in need of a Savior and keep our focus on Jesus. Unlike us, He IS perfect and will not stumble or fall.
-
When new Christians are over their initial “honeymoon” state of their conversion, they begin to look at others with a wrong attitude. The tempters zoom in on this situation and use this wrong attitude to plant a seed of doubt. How can so and so be a professing Christian when they are know to be thus and so? When we are unable or unwilling to turn the magnifing glass around and look at our ownselves, we are easily lured away.
Leave a Reply