Chapter 1 of this section brought me back to Book 2, where Lewis discussed Pantheism. He was clear back then that Pantheism was not the Christian way, but reading his explanation of morality and ideals at the beginning of Book 3 encouraged me to revisit and re-read this earlier portion of the text.
I really liked Lewis’s analogy about the fleet of ships — I think this imagery really helped me envision and understand the concepts much more clearly. I agree with his statement on pg. 72: “modern people are nearly always thinking about the first thing and forgetting the other two.” The second aspect (internal work) caught my eye in particular as I fight a continual uphill battle to prioritize rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation in a world that seems to demand constant attention, energy, and giving of the self. Not only do we make sure that our ship doesn’t collide with the others, we give these ships an extra wide berth and shoot confetti instead of cannon balls by way of greeting. This section overall was a good reminder to me that self-care is a form of loving others as an investment in the self allows you to better serve others in the long run.
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I don’t know that any of the information in these chapters was groundbreaking or new to me, but I do think these pages were filled with lots of excellent reminders. These kinds of reminders act as bumpers and keep us on track if we begin to veer off course.
The discussion in Chapter 2 regarding virtues vs being virtuous reminded me of the quote “Even a stopped clock is right twice per day.” Building habits takes time, and we need to keep receiving reminders until we’ve practiced enough to ingrain correct behavior into our natural state. To me, this falls within the category of “it’s not easy, but it is simple.” Over time, through repeated exposure and lots of practice, virtuous behavior becomes easier and more natural, and the "choice" part of it all becomes smaller and smaller until the virtuous answer seems obvious. The same concept could be applied to a lot of other habits as well!
I think what makes all the difference in this practice of virtue leading to more and more natural virtuous behavior is what's going on in the 2 Corinthians passage I quoted in the post. As we behold Jesus, the Holy Spirit is transforming us into the likeness of Jesus. So as we practice virtue (imitate Christ), it isn't only that we are habit building, there is actually also a supernatural work being done to us by the Spirit!
Also, I can empathize with your fight for rest. This is a great struggle for me. I'm reading through Mark right now; again and again in it I see Jesus making time to go to the desolate place to pray alone or encouraging his disciples to go to a place to rest after their serving others. I need to learn this rhythm from Jesus. It is one of the ways I need the Spirit to conform me to the likeness of Christ.
So far I have enjoyed the references to nationalism, and his opinions on political servitude, and society that he has made so far. I also found his opinion on giving in chapter three eye opening, and convicting when he says, " If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small." I wonder how upsetting this would make some American believers to hear before taking up offering in a church service(if I had heard it in such a setting I might have left that church). I also enjoyed his insights on repentance in Chapter 4 para. 9.
The section on giving struck me as well! This (naturally) made me take a defensive posture almost immediately, but I think there's actually a lot worth thinking about from that small tidbit of the reading.
I like how he insists on Christians bringing their worldview into every area of life and work, that it isn't the clergy that is supposed to make political change, but rather Christian statesmen and politicians affecting change in their area of influence.
I imagine his section on charity and giving will make just about any Christian squirm a little. It is quite the statement to claim that if your giving doesn't inconvenience you, it's likely not enough. That's pretty intense.
Did you agree with his description of repentance? That repentance is a description of what going back to God is like?
Where to start? Too much good stuff in these pages and I don't have my brain organized enough to share concisely 🙃
So, I'll just share the biggest gut punch I had, which so neatly tucked itself between the end of ch 2 and beginning of ch 3 👊
Lewis had just written, "... there will be every occasion for being the sort of people that we can become only as the result of doing such acts here."
-- "Do our developed virtues truly transfer over into heaven?" I thought. "Of course they do!" -- my inner dialog lol
Pretty convicting to recognize I am not often thinking about how I live for my next life. I just think of the here and now, the cause and effect my choices have on earth. How can I change my thinking to be heaven-focused?
Little ideas popped into my mind: change my morning routine to better focus on God, read that study book I haven't started yet, finish memorizing that passage in Deuteronomy, the list went on.
But then chapter 3 started and slapped me back into the reality I needed 😅
"Really great moral teachers never do introduce new moralities ... people need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed."
I don't need to add more things to my already earth-focused, too-busy life (though that may be helpful for some).
I already have more knowledge than I'll ever use (I would argue that anyone studying CS Lewis is in this same bucket).
Another book, another podcast, another flippant prayer (cause let's be honest) isn't going to solve my lack of virtue-building for heaven. It's going to make me feel better about myself for a time, build that pride, and yet I will have not done anything for my heavenly-future self. In fact, because I so often forget like the Israelites, I will probably have forgotten this whole Lewis bit and continued on my merry way of building treasure here 😔
Like I explained in my comment last week, I need time with Jesus to refuel my spiritual self. This week's reading revealed that one moment with God every 24 hours is not enough. I am far too forgetful and self-serving to not be in constant connection to Him.
What a roller coaster! But I love where you arrived. It is easy to replace actual practice of virtue or time with Jesus with another podcast episode or another chapter of some book. But these are the things that shape us the most, the things that conform us to His image. Thanks for sharing your inner dialogue. Helped me remember what the most meaningful ways to spend my time really are.
I especially love that last bit of scripture. I've got some really deep-rooted habits surrounding prayer and some pretty strong self-imposed limitations on what "counts" as a prayer. So, my first reaction when I read your comment was "Well how am I supposed to do that? Surely that can't be literal."
I sat here and thought about it for a few minutes before it occurred to me to swap the word "prayer" with "conversation." It almost never crosses my mind to just toss a thought to God in the middle of the day - "Hey God, let's get through this together." or "Jesus, guide me on this phone call." or "Thank you, Lord, for that win!" I typically frame prayer in my life as a formal sit-down at the beginning and/or end of the day that has a specific setting, a specific format, etc. But then I often find myself feeling embarrassed or inadequate in my prayers because I stumble over my words or don't have seamless transitions between ideas. Then, self-doubt creeps in and, before I know it, my prayer is interrupted with thoughts like "Boy, God must think I'm a chump. This prayer stinks!" when in reality, I'm just getting in my own way and making the stakes way too high on something that should be a joyful and positive experience. How do you have a positive, abundant, thriving, and energizing relationship with the Lord if you're just trying to deliver an oral report each time you connect?
Thanks for the ideas and leading me down this thought path :) Your response was really great!
Chapter 1 of this section brought me back to Book 2, where Lewis discussed Pantheism. He was clear back then that Pantheism was not the Christian way, but reading his explanation of morality and ideals at the beginning of Book 3 encouraged me to revisit and re-read this earlier portion of the text.
I really liked Lewis’s analogy about the fleet of ships — I think this imagery really helped me envision and understand the concepts much more clearly. I agree with his statement on pg. 72: “modern people are nearly always thinking about the first thing and forgetting the other two.” The second aspect (internal work) caught my eye in particular as I fight a continual uphill battle to prioritize rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation in a world that seems to demand constant attention, energy, and giving of the self. Not only do we make sure that our ship doesn’t collide with the others, we give these ships an extra wide berth and shoot confetti instead of cannon balls by way of greeting. This section overall was a good reminder to me that self-care is a form of loving others as an investment in the self allows you to better serve others in the long run.
——————————————————
I don’t know that any of the information in these chapters was groundbreaking or new to me, but I do think these pages were filled with lots of excellent reminders. These kinds of reminders act as bumpers and keep us on track if we begin to veer off course.
The discussion in Chapter 2 regarding virtues vs being virtuous reminded me of the quote “Even a stopped clock is right twice per day.” Building habits takes time, and we need to keep receiving reminders until we’ve practiced enough to ingrain correct behavior into our natural state. To me, this falls within the category of “it’s not easy, but it is simple.” Over time, through repeated exposure and lots of practice, virtuous behavior becomes easier and more natural, and the "choice" part of it all becomes smaller and smaller until the virtuous answer seems obvious. The same concept could be applied to a lot of other habits as well!
I think what makes all the difference in this practice of virtue leading to more and more natural virtuous behavior is what's going on in the 2 Corinthians passage I quoted in the post. As we behold Jesus, the Holy Spirit is transforming us into the likeness of Jesus. So as we practice virtue (imitate Christ), it isn't only that we are habit building, there is actually also a supernatural work being done to us by the Spirit!
Also, I can empathize with your fight for rest. This is a great struggle for me. I'm reading through Mark right now; again and again in it I see Jesus making time to go to the desolate place to pray alone or encouraging his disciples to go to a place to rest after their serving others. I need to learn this rhythm from Jesus. It is one of the ways I need the Spirit to conform me to the likeness of Christ.
So far I have enjoyed the references to nationalism, and his opinions on political servitude, and society that he has made so far. I also found his opinion on giving in chapter three eye opening, and convicting when he says, " If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small." I wonder how upsetting this would make some American believers to hear before taking up offering in a church service(if I had heard it in such a setting I might have left that church). I also enjoyed his insights on repentance in Chapter 4 para. 9.
The section on giving struck me as well! This (naturally) made me take a defensive posture almost immediately, but I think there's actually a lot worth thinking about from that small tidbit of the reading.
I like how he insists on Christians bringing their worldview into every area of life and work, that it isn't the clergy that is supposed to make political change, but rather Christian statesmen and politicians affecting change in their area of influence.
I imagine his section on charity and giving will make just about any Christian squirm a little. It is quite the statement to claim that if your giving doesn't inconvenience you, it's likely not enough. That's pretty intense.
Did you agree with his description of repentance? That repentance is a description of what going back to God is like?
Where to start? Too much good stuff in these pages and I don't have my brain organized enough to share concisely 🙃
So, I'll just share the biggest gut punch I had, which so neatly tucked itself between the end of ch 2 and beginning of ch 3 👊
Lewis had just written, "... there will be every occasion for being the sort of people that we can become only as the result of doing such acts here."
-- "Do our developed virtues truly transfer over into heaven?" I thought. "Of course they do!" -- my inner dialog lol
Pretty convicting to recognize I am not often thinking about how I live for my next life. I just think of the here and now, the cause and effect my choices have on earth. How can I change my thinking to be heaven-focused?
Little ideas popped into my mind: change my morning routine to better focus on God, read that study book I haven't started yet, finish memorizing that passage in Deuteronomy, the list went on.
But then chapter 3 started and slapped me back into the reality I needed 😅
"Really great moral teachers never do introduce new moralities ... people need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed."
I don't need to add more things to my already earth-focused, too-busy life (though that may be helpful for some).
I already have more knowledge than I'll ever use (I would argue that anyone studying CS Lewis is in this same bucket).
Another book, another podcast, another flippant prayer (cause let's be honest) isn't going to solve my lack of virtue-building for heaven. It's going to make me feel better about myself for a time, build that pride, and yet I will have not done anything for my heavenly-future self. In fact, because I so often forget like the Israelites, I will probably have forgotten this whole Lewis bit and continued on my merry way of building treasure here 😔
Like I explained in my comment last week, I need time with Jesus to refuel my spiritual self. This week's reading revealed that one moment with God every 24 hours is not enough. I am far too forgetful and self-serving to not be in constant connection to Him.
Pray without ceasing. 1 Thess 5:17
What a roller coaster! But I love where you arrived. It is easy to replace actual practice of virtue or time with Jesus with another podcast episode or another chapter of some book. But these are the things that shape us the most, the things that conform us to His image. Thanks for sharing your inner dialogue. Helped me remember what the most meaningful ways to spend my time really are.
Such good stuff, Shalisa!!
I especially love that last bit of scripture. I've got some really deep-rooted habits surrounding prayer and some pretty strong self-imposed limitations on what "counts" as a prayer. So, my first reaction when I read your comment was "Well how am I supposed to do that? Surely that can't be literal."
I sat here and thought about it for a few minutes before it occurred to me to swap the word "prayer" with "conversation." It almost never crosses my mind to just toss a thought to God in the middle of the day - "Hey God, let's get through this together." or "Jesus, guide me on this phone call." or "Thank you, Lord, for that win!" I typically frame prayer in my life as a formal sit-down at the beginning and/or end of the day that has a specific setting, a specific format, etc. But then I often find myself feeling embarrassed or inadequate in my prayers because I stumble over my words or don't have seamless transitions between ideas. Then, self-doubt creeps in and, before I know it, my prayer is interrupted with thoughts like "Boy, God must think I'm a chump. This prayer stinks!" when in reality, I'm just getting in my own way and making the stakes way too high on something that should be a joyful and positive experience. How do you have a positive, abundant, thriving, and energizing relationship with the Lord if you're just trying to deliver an oral report each time you connect?
Thanks for the ideas and leading me down this thought path :) Your response was really great!