Just finished reading C.S. Lewis’ The Horse and His Boy with one of my girls. What did she learn?
- To listen to the Lion, i.e., God
- Beware of pride
How about these as Lenten lessons? In my April 1 reading of  The Business of Heaven: Daily Readings from C.S. Lewis (C.S. Lewis, Walter Hooper. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1984), I was reminded of C.S. Lewis’ focused thoughts on “The Great Sin” of pride/self-conceit (Mere Christianity. MacMillan, 1975, Book III, Chapter 8). Below’s a challenging section:
According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.
Does this seem exaggerated? If so, think it over. I pointed out a moment ago that the more pride one had, the more one disliked pride in others. In fact, if you want to find out how proud you are, the easiest way is to ask yourself, ‘How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronize me, or show off?’ [Read more…] about Brief Reflection on “The Great Sin”