I have been reading a book by C.S. Lewis. He is most widely known for his works the Chronicles of Narnia. He is a really interesting person. He gave a series of radio talks near the end of and after WWII then compiled them in a book called "Mere Christianity". Early in life he considered himself an atheist but after lots of thought and research, he gives some very insightful explanations as to how he came to embrace Christianity. The book is simply a basic description of what Christianity entails with no specific church's doctrine. Here are some examples:
We might try to understand exactly what loving your neighbour as yourself means. I have to love him as I love myself. Well, how exactly do I love myself?Now that I come to think of it, I have not exactly got a feeling of fondness or affection for myself, and I do not even always enjoy my own society. So apparently 'Love your neighbor' does not mean 'feel fond of him' or 'find him attractive'. I ought to have seen that before, because, of course, you cannot feel fond of a person by trying....So loving my enemies does not apparently mean thinking them nice either..
Does loving your enemy mean not punishing him? No, for loving myself does not mean that I ought not to subject myself to punishment- even to death....
That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not....
Now what you want to get clear is that Pride is essentially competitive- is competitive by its very nature- while the other vices are competitive only, so to speak, by accident. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.....
In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that- and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison- you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God.......
Charity means 'Love, in the Christian sense'. But love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people...............Christian Love (or Charity) for our neighbours is quite a different thing from liking or affection. We 'like' or are 'fond of' some people, and not of others. It is important to understand that this natural 'liking' is neither a sin nor a virtue, any more than your likes and dislikes in food are a sin or a virtue. It is just a fact. But, of course, what we do about it is either sinful or virtuous...... Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you did..... Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible......... [People] are told they ought to love God. They cannot find any such feeling in themselves. What are they to do? The answer is the same as before. Act as if you did......... Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will.
These are just a few snippets that give evidence that C.S. Lewis's thoughts are worth knowing and considering. I think everyone could gain some wisdom from him. It's almost a disservice to him to just give little bits out of context. His full explanations are so much clearer. Those who have already chosen to believe in God and His Son can find clarity in their choice through his reasoning. Those who are confused and searching can find direction in his logic. He's a good guy.
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