Walk Humbly
Week #4
In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis attempts to explain temptation from the viewpoint of Satan and his demons. The book is written as a series of letters between Screwtape, the older, more experienced tempter, and his nephew and demon-in-training, Wormwood. Screwtape sees God as being in direct opposition to his diabolical plans to consume human souls. And although he refers to God as the Enemy, Screwtape beautifully portrays God’s love and the tremendous and transforming power it wields in a human life.
Below are a few of the recommendations that Uncle Screwtape writes to his nephew concerning humility.
Excerpt from The Screwtape Letters
“I see only one thing to do at the moment. Your patient has become humble; have you drawn his attention to the fact? All virtues are less formidable to us once the man is aware that he has them, but this is specially true of humility. Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, ‘By jove! I’m being humble,’ and almost immediately pride—pride at his own humility—will appear…
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. Some talents, I gather, he really has. Fix in his mind the idea that humility consists in trying to believe those talents to be less valuable than he believes them to be.”
Discussion Questions
Opening Question:
What stood out most to you?
Core Question #1:
How do you feel about the way Lewis wrote The Screwtape Letters from the demon’s perspective?
Core Question #2:
How does Screwtape view humility? Does anything ring especially true? Is anything surprising or confusing to you?
Core Question #3:
What do you think about C.S. Lewis’s definition of humility (From Mere Christianity):
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.”
Core Question #4:
How does this other advice from Uncle Screwtape add to your understanding of humility:
To anticipate the Enemy’s strategy, we must consider His aims. The Enemy wants to bring the man to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) or otherwise glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another.
Concluding Question:
How has your understanding of humility changed based on today’s discussion?