Many Christians in modern-day international culture are very preoccupied by the pursuit humility. They believe that one must always be assessing and attempting to better oneself in this respect in order to grow in Christianity, for they are rightly told that pride is the root of all sins. On the surface, this self-reformation seems to be quite beneficial, but C.S. Lewis in the masterpiece The Screwtape Letters argues quite the opposite. People who are focused on themselves do not have room to be sufficiently focused on God. If self-improvement is needed, the acknowledgement of the fault in question with direct petitioning and glorification of God is all that would be needed to start the growth process. If people try to consciously fix their …show more content…
Many have the misconception that humility is the “acceptable synonym” to self-degradation. This is far from the truth, and instead of benefiting those who retain this theory, it only hurts them. The devaluing of talents or God-given not only introduces self-deception, but also diminishes the awesomeness of God. Instead, Lewis implies in The Screwtape Letters that God’s view of humility is quite different when Screwtape tells his nephew, “You must therefore conceal from the patient the true end of humility. Let him think of it not as self-forgetfulness, but as a certain kind of opinion, namely a low opinion) of his own talents and character.” (63) One quote from Rick Warren that is commonly attributed to C.S. Lewis sums true humility up quite well, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others.” (Day 19) Pride, on the other hand, is more universally understood as being an inflated view of oneself or one’s talents. Pride is considered to be the first of the “deadly sins,” and is commonly considered to be the root of all sin. Pride is idolizing oneself, which violates the first and foremost commandment of having no idols. Every other sin is a result of the prideful assumption that the person knows better than God does. While it is relatively easy to define these terms and to understand them, it is much …show more content…
He says, “The most alarming thing in your last account of the patient is that he is making none of those confident resolutions which marked his original conversion. No more lavish promises of perpetual virtue, I gather; not even the expectation of an endowment of ‘grace’ for his life, but only a hope for the daily and hourly pittance to meet the daily and hourly temptation! This is very bad.” (Lewis 62) In the patient’s “first conversion,” he was the one who made the resolutions, and expected things of God. Many would fail to find the pride in this at a cursory look, but a deeper analysis shows that these actions are rife this vice of pride. He is trying by his own ability to be a “good Christian.” Many Christians fall into the same trap. They do not rely on God and his mercy for their transformation, but in pride, they try to transform themselves by sheer willpower. It goes back to the definition of humility—that Christians’ main focus in life should not be in improving themselves, but rather placing importance on others and on God, and if this is done, then sanctification will
The Screwtape Letters is one of the most popular works of prominent Christian writer C.S. Lewis. It documents the letters sent from the demon Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood regarding the damnation of an English gentleman living just before and during World War II. This novel is considered by many to be one of the best works by Lewis, but whether it is really worth the hype surrounding it is more subjective. Regardless of if it’s that good, however, it’s still a very interesting read and a fascinating glimpse into 1940s Britain and the moral dilemmas that were faced by good Christian people at the time.
Some examples of the sin pride are portrayed through Reverend John Hale. Hale shows pride by stating that his books are heavy because “they are weighted with authority,” boasting about his good education (153, l. 712-713). He also tells Parris and Putnam to believe in his judgement because he is more knowledgeable in this topic (154, l. 751-758). He believes himself intellectually superior
In the 1930’s, there was many inconvenient catastrophes going on such as the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Many families migrated to California hoping to find better conditions. In the excerpt from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, we are introduced to a man going through the situation of moving to California. He is trying to purchase ten cents worth of bread for him and his family, but isn’t quite able to accomplish that due to the stubborn waitress named Mae. Humility is shown in the excerpt when the man constantly shows his humbleness towards Mae. The man’s “insistent” and “inflexible” humility changes Mae’s behavior into becoming more sympathetic and less stubborn by the way he continued to be humble and persistent making her realize the difficulty of his situation.
Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity: A Revised and Amplified Edition, with a New Introduction, of the Three Books, Broadcast Talks, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001. Print.
What a fascinating adjustment in perspectives, motive, and determination from the once deeply connected to God the unprofessed theologian. The man who we admired for his crafty dexterity to be a Christian Apologetic emerges to be torn from the foundations of his faith and experiences of how to respond to the unspecified. This book is openly troubling for the believer because all too often we know that this is a very real situation that our author is experiencing. However, while it may appear that a staunch believer has lost his way were hastily reminded that this not the case at all. In the book "A Grief Observed" by C. S. Lewis we see, what I call, a defining mature Christian transition, disruption to the norm, or bump in the road all Christians
Lewis is now talking about forgiveness. Forgiveness sounds easy until you find yourself having to forgive someone who has done you wrong. When forgiving someone you don’t have to like them or agree with what they have done, but you do have tell yourself to stop holding a grudge when you think about what that other person has done. But when forgiving someone you have said that you no longer hold that against them. Also God says that we should forgive others like he forgave us and we have done more wrong to him that the other way around.
The Christian faith focuses on the orientation of the human heart behind human thoughts and actions. Living by faith is a beautiful alternative to the way people think of themselves and the way they live in relation to others in their daily lives (Merrick, 2014). Christians see themselves in terms of God’s profound love for them but not in terms of what they do. The teachings of the Christian faith; nonviolence, non-retaliation, inward integrity, selflessness, and love your neighbor as yourself provide the framework for ethical thinking. Although, adopting belief in Christianity can bring forth confusion in the heart and mind causing agony of learning to sacrifice one’s rightful claims for personal justice for the restoration of another (Merrick, 2014). Unconditional forgiveness is difficult to understand because spiritual forgiveness and actual costly forgiveness is viewed as the same in the gospel. If you do not forgive, then one does not have faith in God’s forgiveness as it really is. Christianity influences a person thinking and behavior developing wisdom which requires faith. The faith that is needed to reorient the heart away from selfishness to selflessness.
Many people take much pride in numerous things some being: their job, family, political views, even as much as in their favorite sport. People make mistakes big and small, but it is how one deals with the situation and the mistake, that shows the morality in a person, and shows who he or she may be. “The only crime is pride,” Sophocles, is still held to be true; for instance, pride itself can cloud a persons’ mind and caused him or her to commit the crimes he or she did. Pride is thought to be a good thing but in many cases it is proven otherwise. Even though there is some truth in “the only crime is pride” the crimes/mistakes caused by pride are not forgivable, and “yielding” does not help at all; pride is not just to prove oneself right, but also not to look “weak” in the eyes of others.
Christianity has its challenges. It places demands on us that set us apart from the rest of our world. The bible calls us a peculiar people, who navigate the challenge of living IN the world, without being OF the world. When we say ‘no’ to temptations that are enjoyed by the masses, we are labeled as self-righteous snobs, religious weirdoes, or worse. But we persevere, and we press toward that invisible line the Apostle Paul drew in the sands of time…for the high calling in Christ Jesus.
God’s law demands sins to be confessed and forgiveness be requested in order to become stronger through Him. 1 John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (ESV). Just as the BSC is a strategy for organizations to grow stronger, God’s strategy of sinners confessing and requesting forgiveness is a way for Christians to become stronger. Economies of Scale and
...corrupt the life of a good individual, ultimately resulting in detriment and turmoil. Having excessive pride in one’s self can deteriorate ones relationships with friends and family, resulting in the isolation and depression of that individual. It can also cause one to establish false and unattainable hopes, consequently resulting in delusion and harsh disappointment. Finally, it can completely deteriorate the mental health of an individual, to a point where one can simply not concede failure and generally, accept reality. Once an individual begins to build up excessive pride, their lives will plummet into adversity, and ultimately they will die as a failure. To maintain a good life, abstain from building up excessive self pride, and avoid becoming a tragic hero.
“Reality never presents us with an absolutely unavoidable ‘either-or’; that, granted skill and patience and (above all) time enough, some way of embracing both alternatives can always be found” (Preface:VII). Lewis suggests here that time if spent right can bring us to self-realization of our journey, and in effect influence our choices. These choices are dependent on time. As wrong choices are made only in time, no truly rational choices can be made will out of the realm of time. Time is the evil that surrounds us. It is the letting go of this time when we truly feel void of problems. Only by letting go of our problems we will be able to communicate with God, while in the essence of being one with ourselves and finding our true inner self.
Hu•bris /ˈ(h)yo͞obris/ noun: excessive pride or self-confidence. Hubris is believed to be the most serious of all seven deadly sins. Some say it was the original sin that led to all others. A word with such loathsome synonyms like arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, pomposity, and egotism was seen as one of the worst possible sins in Greek culture. They believed that no matter your social status those who exhibited it were destined to fall down into damnation. Yet some Grecian heroes seemed to ooze hubris in the form of confidence or cockiness. There was a fine line between the two that they should never cross. One hero in particular showed this sin on more than one account. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus, shows the sinful trait of hubris, in the form of cockiness when he talks to Polythemus, his crewmen, his wife, and his son.
vanity, pride, and self - knowledge intervenes in the development of the virtue of the characters,
There was a man by the name of Thomas of Elderfield who had a life full of ups and downs, but who never lost his faith in Christianity. He came from a poor family and worked his way up the social ladder to a successful business man. This climb up the social ladder was beneficial to him, but soon led to trouble as he attracted a suitor. After several years of infidelity with the suitor, Thomas’s conscious got to him and he discontinued seeing the married woman. His faith in God kept him from returning to her despite her repeated attempts at pulling him into sin. Thomas could not live with the weight of the sin on his shoulders so he went to a priest to confess what was causing him anguish and repent for his sins. “Eventually God's grace intervened and remorse stung him; so he presented himself to a priest and took his healthy advice to do proper penance for his offence,” (Malmesbury, par. 2). The woman remarried a man named George years after her first husband had passed away. In time George found out about his new wife’s previous infidelity...