Where is the Safe Place?

Where’s the Safest Place to be?

Today in class we discussed the topic of complacency and how it affects Christians. We began with bringing focus on an excerpt from the Screwtape Letters where Screwtape is instructing his apprentice, Wormwood, on how best to keep Wormwood’s patient on a downward spiral in spirituality. The excerpt is as follows:

“For this reason I am almost glad to hear that he is still a churchgoer and a communicant. I know there are dangers in this; but anything is better than that he should realize the break it has made with the first months of his Christian life. As long as he retains externally the habits of a Christian he can still be made to think of himself as one who has adopted a few new friends and amusements but whose spiritual state is much the same as it was six weeks ago. And while he thinks that, we do not have to contend with the explicit repentance of a definite, fully recognized, sin, but only with his vague, though uneasy, feeling that he hasn't been doing very well lately.”

What stood out to me in this paragraph is where Screwtape encourages the continued church attendance of Wormwood’s patient. Screwtape suggests that the distractions which come from the excitement and eventual routine of entering into a new community will ultimately hinder any potential spiritual growth in the patient. I agree with Screwtape.

Any activity, thought, or emotion which distracts a Christian from the personal aspects of a relationship with God will hinder any further growth. The truth of this statement is extremely relevant to many Christians because many of them in actuality struggle with this exact problem. Even worse, the source of the distractions which ultimately blind these Christians come from the Church. Routine, a lack of challenge, even friends are just some of the many ways a Christian may be distracted from growing in their relationship with God. Especially those Christians who attend church for many years suffer from becoming stagnant and eventual backsliding.

How can a Christian avoid these problems? The answer to that, in my opinion, is to remain in a position of dependence on God regarding at least some area of life. Too often, Christians form for themselves a comfortable lifestyle in which they are able to control and maintain on their own. The need for prayer and drawing closer to God for wisdom, comfort, or worship becomes weaker by the day. However, when we are in a state of needing God’s providence regarding a certain area of our life, we keep our prayers and relationship with Him on an ongoing basis. Of course, this sounds as if we are only seeking God when we need His help and in a sense this is true. However, I find that there is a difference between depending on God for the sole purpose of receiving His help is lesser than staying in a position of seeking God’s help for the purpose of nurturing and developing a relationship with Him.

In sum, as Christians we need to regularly pursue growth in our relationship with God and stay away from the temptations of becoming stagnant and apathetic to Him. Often many Christians become desensitized to the truths of who we are in Christ and that is a dangerous thing. As Christians it is our responsibility to keep close to God, to learn to discipline ourselves and make the hard decisions which lead to greater intimacy with the Lord.