Letter 10: Puffed Up in Both Worlds

Review:

  • Life is made up of peaks and valleys
  • How does God use the valleys? God is glorified when we stay obedient. That obedience makes us grow.
  • How does Satan use the valleys? He makes us turn to despair or we must fix it 'ourselves' without God. We use pleasures outside of the purposes for which God made them.
  • Anyone have a peak/valley they want to share?
  • Anyone read Psalm 119?
Outline:
  • The patient has made new friends: middle age couple that are 'of the world'.
  • Screwtape wants to know if the patient has aligned himself with them?
  • Wormwood should groom the patient in such a way that he can rationalize the fact that his Christian 'faith is in direct opposition' to this new group. Actually, he will be puffed up that he can be in both worlds and the individuals in the separate worlds are missing the other.
  • Wormwood must hide the fact that this new pleasure is 'temptation'.
  • Could get him to live parallel lives depending on who he is with.
Terminology:

  • Mammon - material wealth, having a debasing influence. 
  • Urbane - urban, polished, suave.

Questions/Discussions:
  • Describe an example of where in today's world, Christians might be living 'parallel lives'.
  • What does 'Puritanism' mean in the world today?
  • Do we ever try to replace 'Puritanism' with 'Legalism' ? Do you say a person is being 'legalistic' or 'puritanical' if they push to end (these are in order of things that have increasing chance of taking away our fun): drunk driving? drug abuse? drinking? gambling? dancing? Do we place these labels because of what the world says? what we feel? or what God says?
  • How do we balance being in the World but not of the World? (i.e. living in this world, but remaining obedient to God?)
    • The 1 John 2:15-17 and James 4:4-6 passages talk about not being 'of the World'
    • Great Commission is clear, but it does not mean we can go into the world for our own pleasure and rationalize it by saying it is God's commission. Example: evangelistic-dating (If I date her, she'll come to know Christ).
    • Christ hung around with sinners, but not for his own pleasure or to legitimize their behavior. We can not hide from 'the world and sin' for own comfort. See 1 Cor 5:9-11.
    • John 15:18-19 says that the world we hate us if we are obedient followers of Christ. Have you ever been hated for being a Christian? Do you avoid God's will because you are afraid to be hated?
Scripture:

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