This chapter really spoke to me. We aren't a collection of big, major things. Everything we do, big or small, is important to us and helps shape who we are and what we become. I can understand Screwtape's chastisement in this chapter. It makes sense that if we're happy it should be from a sin in his point of view. Even then, we shouldn't be happy, we just should be meh. I know where he's coming from, It isn't when we're happy that we do bad things, and bad things don't really make people happy. Ultimately, they want the patient to fail, but he's been happy lately, doing simple things for his pleasure, and he's being rewarded by God. This returns to my first idea, that it isn't huge acts of good that grant us boons, it's just small things, for the betterment of yourself or others that hurt no one.
2 comments:
I agree that it is often the smaller things people do that make them happy. Happiness doesn't need to come from others misfortune. Doing good things or simple things can be rewarded by God with a sense of pleasure. Happiness for me comes from playing with my niece and nephew which doesn't cause harm to anyone else and it benefits my sister.
I like to think that our good deeds can be done without self-gratitude. Yet the truth is that we do feel better about ourselves when doing something good for others. We know that that deed helped someone else in a difficult time. My good deed came from a Wendy's trip one night; a homeless man kept on asking for water from the lady who worked at Wendy's because he knew he didnt have to pay for it. Well when I was done eating i had some quarters in my pocket left from the meal and I bought him two cheese burgers from the $1 menu. He looked at me and tried to say thankyou but couldnt, and all I could come up with was "Keep warm tonight my friend" and I left knowing he will have food in his stomach that night.
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