Pleasures

"Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy's ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one." Uncle Screwtape, Letter 9

When I read this, I had to sit back and remember that God has created and made everything for us. Every thing that is, has been created by God. Satan cannot create anything. I guess I tend to associated temptations and pleasures with Satan, which I think is accurate, but he is not responsible for them. God has given us many things that Satan twists and turns into something used for evil.

This letter, and this book, affirms what I have picked up from some of the other CS Lewis works. What we perceive as evil or bad is a distortion of what is good. God gave us love, but Orual's love was twisted. Many of the characters from the Grey Town in the Great Divorce had twisted concepts of love and their meaning in the world.

I guess what I am getting at is that we should not necessarily fear evil, but be mindful of the good that can so easily be turned and twisted and lead to our dimise. Love is a perfect example that we have seen in previous works. Gluttony is another example. Food is a good thing! Our bodies need it, but too much of it is a sin?! Something good can be used for evil. After thinking about this, I feel as though I am walking on my toes, always on my guard. Is this good thing becoming something evil in my life?

We all know that God can use the bad in the world for good, but then Satan can use the good in the world for evil. This brings up the issue of how much power does Satan really have? Equal power like Frank Peretti’s says in This Present Darkness or limited power? That is a whole other topic to be saved for a rainy day...