C.S. Lewis: Favorable Conditions

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

“There are always plenty of rivals to our work. We are always falling in love or quarrelling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. if we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come.”

C.S. Lewis in “The Weight of Glory” in Transpositions and Other Addresses (Quebec: Samizdat University Press, 2014) 44.

What should we do with material blessings, especially in the crazy times in which we find ourselves? The time to give is as God supplies and as God guides. All the money we possess is His, not ours. As He supplies, faithful stewards ask Him what to do with it.

With Lewis, I concur that “favorable conditions never come.” Let me elaborate.

The “what if” situations of life will always keep us from giving if we allow them to. What if I lose my job? What if I have a medical expense? What if I some other unexpected expense arises? These unfavorable possibilities lead us to hoard rather than help. So, what should we do instead? Here’s what I suggest.

Start with ask God what to do with what He supplies as it is His money anyway. Sometimes He will lead you to give it. Other times He will guide you to use it for non-recurring expenses. Regardless, a good practice is to live on a mina, three month’s income, and store the rest up in heaven. This should give you adequate cash flow for regular and unexpected expenses and make sure the money is where the Master wants it: in heaven where nothing can touch it. This also matches what the faithful stewards do in the parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:11-27). They don’t bury the Master’s money. They put it to work and return the growth to Him.

Give as God supplies and as God guides. Don’t wait for favorable conditions. Giving generously in unfavorable times can also be a great witness of our Christian faith.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

“But who dares claim to be a spiritual man? In the full sense, none of us. And yet we are somehow aware that we approach from above, or from inside, at least some of those Transpositions which embody the Christian life in this world. With whatever sense of unworthiness, with whatever sense of audacity, we must affirm that we know a little of the higher system which is being transposed. In a way the claim we are making is not a very startling one. We are only claiming to know that our apparent devotion, whatever else it may have been, was not simply erotic, or that our apparent desire for Heaven, whatever else it may have been, was not simply a desire for longevity or jewelry or social splendours. Perhaps we have never really attained at all to what St. Paul would describe as spiritual life. But at the very least we know, in some dim and confused way, that we were trying to use natural acts and images and language with a new value, have at least desired a repentance which was not merely prudential and a love which was not self-centred.”

C.S. Lewis in “Transpositions” in Transpositions and Other Addresses (Quebec: Samizdat University Press, 2014) 11.

“Transpositions” is an interesting sermon preached on Whitsunday (a.k.a. Pentecost Sunday) in Mansfield College Chapel, Oxford. It’s contents represents a scholar trying to wrap his mind around the idea of spiritual growth.

Part of what struck me is that the Christian life leads us to humility and selfless love. And it leads us away from the desire for longevity or jewelry or social splendours. In a sense, after reading it, I conclude that we become what we desire.

And yet, we never really arrive because there is so much about this spiritual life we seek that we don’t understand. So, how does this relate to generosity? If we are chasing longevity or jewelry or social splendours, we are running toward emptiness.

Alternatively, if we pursue spiritual things which none of us, including St. Paul, can ever fully grasp, we are headed the right direction. And we move that way by acknowledging our unworthiness. Only then we begin to discover real treasures worth grasping and sharing with others that money can’t buy.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. Titus 3:3-8

“We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin. I have heard others, and I have heard myself, recounting cruelties and falsehoods committed in boyhood as if they were no concern of the present speaker’s, and even with laughter. but mere time does nothing either to the fact or to the guilt of a sin. the guilt is washed out not by time but by repentance and the blood of Christ: if we have repented these early sins we should remember the price of our forgiveness and be humble.”

C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain (Quebec: Samizdat University Press, 2016) 35.

If you are observing this Labor Day weekend in the USA, recall with me the generous work Jesus did for us. Consider with gratitude the price of the forgiveness of our sins that He paid for each of us, repent, and be humble. Let us also, in so doing, not forget the purpose this work has given us.

Paul urges Titus to “to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.” Many people are devoted to their passions and pleasures which take the shape of hobbies and self-interests. As God is watching, let us choose to live for Him alone.

Father, thank you for your kindness and love toward us. Forgive us of our sins past and present. Make us, by your Holy Spirit, people careful to devote ourselves to generous living with humility. Do this for your glory we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. Proverbs 17:17

“We think we have chosen our peers. In reality, a few years’ difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another, posting to different regiments, the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of the Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,” can truly say to every group of Christian friends “You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.” The Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others.”

C.S. Lewis in The Four Loves (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1960) 126.

Generosity comes into view in few contexts more vividly than friendship. God, like a “secret Master of the Ceremonies” brings people into our lives which bring out the best in us and we see the beauty in others.

In this classic, Lewis adds “Friendship (as the ancients saw) can be a school of virtue; but also (as they did not see) a school of vice. It is ambivalent. It makes good men better and bad men worse” (115).

So, it is an instrument that contributes to our growth and the growth of others, or vice versa. I am finding that the more time I give to friendship, the more I am blessed in return.

In the USA it is a holiday weekend. Step back as much as you can from your work, and give yourself to others richly, with kindness, grace, love and compassion, and see what happens.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

“Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter, but darker.”

C.S. Lewis and Walter Hooper. On Stories, and Other Essays on Literature (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982).

One of the most generous things we can do in hard times is tell stories of knights and courage. There is a seemingly never ending supply of such stories in the Scriptures.

Recently I was teaching and writing about succession planning and the transition between Moses and Joshua. In Numbers 27:15-23, Moses asks God to appoint a successor and God tells him that Joshua is the man! He must give him some of his authority and affirm and commission him before the people.

Moses did as the Lord commanded. What was the result? Texts like Joshua 1:16-17 tell us that the people followed his lead just as they followed Moses. The challenges that Joshua would faced would be great and would require deep faith and a whole lot of courage. He knew of God’s faithfulness from Moses, so he was ready.

When we tell such stories we remind those around us that we can navigate whatever challenges are in front of us because God is with us, just like He was with them.

And Lewis reminds us today that in dark times, such stories actually bring the light that the next generation needs. Tell such stories.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:3-5

“A sensible human once said, “If people knew how much ill-feeling Unselfishness occasions, it would not be so often recommended from the pulpit”; and again, “she’s the sort of woman who lives for others — you can always tell the others by their hunted expression”. All this can be begun even in the period of courtship. A little real selfishness on your patient’s part is often of less value in the long run, for securing his soul, than the first beginnings of that elaborate and self-consciousness unselfishness which may one day blossom into the sort of thing I have described. some degree of mutual falseness, some surprise that the girl does not always notice just how unselfish he is being, can be smuggled in already. Cherish these things, and, above all, don’t let the young fools notice them. If they notice them they will be on the road to discovering that love is not enough, that charity is needed and not yet achieved and that no external law can supply its place. I wish Slumtrimpet could do something about undermining that young woman’s sense of the ridiculous.”

Uncle Screwtape in Screwtape Letters: Letters from a Senior to a Junior Devil by C.S. Lewis (Samizdat University Press, 2016) 54-55.

I spoke with my dear brother, Anjji Gabriel in Manila, Philippines on Monday. Since he’s a “senior citizen” he’s been basically homebound during COVID. When I asked what he has done to pass the time, he said a few things, including reading C.S. Lewis books. For that reason, until I run out of titles, look for my upcoming Daily Meditations to come from C.S. Lewis books.

Today’s post comes from the pen of Uncle Screwtape. Two excerpts struck me: “she’s the sort of woman who lives for others — you can always tell the others by their hunted expression.” Do you live for others? Do you pursue people? I think I live in an unselfish manner and yet, I don’t think I pursue others or hunt them down. God, help us pursue those around us unselfishly.

The other statement that stood out to me was this one: “…they will be on the road to discovering that love is not enough, that charity is needed…” In our unselfishness, we must add charity or grace to love because of our many sins and imperfections. This will serve to help our relationships with others stay strong. God, help us add a generous dose of grace toward others.

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4

“…a perfect house, whether you like food or sleep or story-telling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all.’ Merely to be there was a cure for weariness, fear, and sadness.”

J.R.R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings, One Volume (New York: HarperCollins, 1994) 225.

I saw a sign at my daughter’s home with this quote. I loved it.

It got me thinking about how the home can be a place of generous hospitality, but only if we allow space for a mixture of activities. Such a place can be a cure for weariness, fear, and sadness.

Is your house such a place? What would it take to make it perfect?

Take time to consider what is missing in your home. Read through Tolkien’s list. Is there too much noise? Are you working all the time? Lately I’ve realized I am working too much.

You can’t remodel your home overnight but you can change the environment.

Make it a place of rest and fun, work and play, talking and listening, laughing and crying, and of course, loving and sharing. Resolve to move this direction and you too will have a perfect house.

From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Revelation 4:5

“God communicates Himself to pure souls and blesses through them other souls who are in a state of receptivity. All these little rills, which water others, little compared with the fountain from which they flow, have no determinate choice of their own, but are governed by the will of their Lord and Master.

The nature of God is communicative. God would cease to be God if He should cease to communicate Himself, by love, to the pure soul. As the air rushes to a vacuum, so God fills the soul emptied of self.

The seven blessed spirits around the throne, are those angels who approach nearest to God, and to whom he communicates Himself the most abundantly. St. John, perhaps, was better prepared than any of the apostles to receive the Word, incarnate, dwelling in the soul.

On the bosom of Jesus—in close affinity with Him—John learned the heights and depths of divine love. It was on this account our Lord said to his mother, “seeing the disciple stand by whom he loved, Woman behold thy Son.” He knew the loving heart of John would give her a place in his own home.

God communicates Himself to us in proportion as we are prepared to receive Him. And in proportion as He diffuses Himself in us, we are transformed in Him, and bear His image. O, the astonishing depths of God’s love giving Himself to souls disappropriated of self, becoming their end, and their final principle, their fulness, and their all.”

Madam Guyon in The Letters of Madam Guyon: Selections of Her Religious Thoughts and Experiences, translated and re-arranged from her private correspondence by P.L. Upham (Boston: Henry Hoyt, 1858) Letter 5.

Madam Guyon shines light three ideas that relate to generosity. It starts with taking receptivity. He communicates or shares Himself with those “ who are in a state of receptivity.” Before we can do any giving, we must receive.

He does not overwhelm us, either. “God communicates Himself to us in proportion as we are prepared to receive Him.” This shouts of His love and His knowledge of each of us. He supplies what we need for ourselves and others.

And He does all this—“giving Himself to souls disappropriated of self, becoming their end, and their final principle, their fulness, and their all”—to the measure that we are empty and waiting for what is best, being filled with His fullness.

It may sound lofty, so let’s simplify all this. Let’s start the week by taking a receptive posture and emptying ourselves so that in proportion, God can fill us and transform us into conduits of material and spiritual blessings for God’s glory.