Lazy Sunday

Sleep in, eat, watch football, eat some more, relax, play the geetar, Church, more football, and maybe some video games if I'm feeling frisky. That's my idea of a lazy Sunday. Part way through just such a day I decided to delve into the many books I have been planning on finishing. When I picked up my copy of The Screwtape Letters I found that my bookmark had been misplaced so I began flipping through the many chapters to see which one I had last read (all of my underlining makes it easy to figure out which chapter I was on.) However, I stumbled upon a section that stood out to me a while back and I became fixated on one passage in particular.

C.S. Lewis does not label his chapters in this book but I give each one a name to help me remember the topic when I skim through them again and I had labeled this one "The Gradual Road to Hell". It is about self-will and how we become lulled into an inactive lifestyle where we give up on pursuing our passions and end up finding ourselves in lifestyles that are completely sedentary and doing work that never stimulates any of our higher reasoning, deep thought, interests, or purpose. The quote that got me motivated enough to begin writing this very post, is the last line of the chapter and says, "The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel."

For anyone reading this who is not familiar with the context of The Screwtape Letters, it is written from the perspective of one demon writing to his demon nephew in-training who is trying to steer his "patient" (human) away from salvation. I found this closing remark to be the deepest statement made in the entire chapter. I never thought that my inactivity could be a stumbling block used by the enemy to eventually deaden my senses and lead me down a path of destruction. Let me preface the rest of what I'm about to say with this; I do not believe that taking it easy some days is a sin, nor do I think it leads to an inactive lifestyle. I know perfectly well that after I work on set from 330pm to 430am the next morning that I am going to need a day of recuperation and "laziness" in order to  decompress so I can keep my sanity.

What I am mostly geared up to ruminate on during this post is the grander scheme of Lewis' statement. I believe everybody is here to do something great. Greatness looks different to every person, but as individuals we all have certain traits that allow us to do "great" things. I believe greatness comes from doing exactly what God has programmed you to do best. Some people are janitors, others are presidents and we all have our unique opportunities to minister to those around us. With that said, I believe we often talk ourselves out of that very greatness God has in store for us because of the tactics the enemy has utilized on us for so long, the tactics that Lewis illuminates in The Screwtape Letters.

The reason that Lewis' statement made such an impact on me was the fact that he describes a snowball affect on our hearts that eventually overtakes our souls. Every time we talk ourselves out of something we know would be good for us, or that we would enjoy, because "there may not be enough time" or the logistics of things seem too daunting, we are giving the enemy a foothold on our lives. God gives everyone dreams for their lives for a reason. If we give up on those dreams or passions because the road may indeed prove to be very difficult, what does that say about our faith in God? Inevitably our lack of faith in God becomes a lack of faith in ourselves. After we have lost our faith in everything what good is living? Why not just sit at home and play video games all day until we're old and can die alone? Why chase after that dream if everyone will scoff at you and instead you can continue to fly under the radar and meet the status-quot of society? Why would you act on those silly emotions when clearly that's not the practical move to make? Lewis is saying that every time we fail to act on those innate parts of who we are that we will eventually cease to be who God has made us to be.

I really hate untapped potential. I know Satan loves it. I hope and pray and try continually to be the best possible version of myself that I can be. And I'll admit it, sometimes this pursuit of "perfection" bites me in the ass, but it's so worth it. I believe the more we act the more we will be able to discern how God speaks through the Holy Spirit within us and we will be given a clearer picture of the men and women we are called to be. So, let's enjoy the lazy Sundays when they come but let's never allow ourselves to become numb to the feelings that God uses to get us up off the couch and into the world that He has sent us to save.