Letters from One Devil to Another

C.S. Lewis is widely recognized as one of the leading Christian writers of the last century. Among his many popular works is one titled, The Screwtape Letters. This collection of 31 letters are written by the character Screwtape, an older devil in Satan's civil service. Screwtape writes these letters to his nephew, a young devil named Wormwood, who is just entering into hell's work. In these letters, the veteran Screwtape is giving advice to the novice Wormwood, who has just been assigned his first "patient."  It is a fascinating look at temptation from the perspective of the tempter.

One of the many insightful passages in the book concerns C.S. Lewis's observation of how Christians view the demonic world:

"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel and excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight." 

Actually, our view of demons and spiritual warfare should be somewhere between these two extremes. Is spiritual warfare a reality? Absolutely! Therefore, we must prepare for it (see Ephesians 6:10-18 and 1 Peter 5:8-9). But should we be blaming every temptation we face upon some unseen demonic tempter (a.k.a. "the demon of fear," "the demon of lust," or "the demon of anger)? Of course not! Not only do we struggle against the temptation of the Evil One (and his hordes), but we also struggle against our sinful flesh and the evil world system in which we live. So ... get ready to do battle, for the spiritual battle will come. But don't obsess about it! Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus as you run the race set before you (Hebrews 12:1-2)!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj