"The humans live in time, but our Enemy destines them to eternity." So says the elder demon Screwtape to his nephew and apprentice Wormwood in a letter about the past, the present, the future, and the relation of human time to God's eternal view. C.S. Lewis uses Screwtape's clever and wicked advice to share deep theological views on time with his readers.
First, Lewis points out the relation of the Present to eternity. The Present, he argues, most closely resembles eternity because, "Of the present moment, and of it only, humans have an experience analogous to the experience which [God] has of reality as a whole, in it alone freedom and actuality are offered them." Lewis claims that God desires us to focus on the present more than the past or the future, because in the present we can receive grace, understand the cross, and obey the Holy Spirit instead of giving into temptation. In Lamentations, Jeremiah writes that "[God's] mercies are new every morning." Charles Spurgeon, a famous 19th century preacher, wrote that "Past experiences are doubtful food for Christians; a present coming to Christ alone can give us joy and comfort." C.S. Lewis himself once quoted: "Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.”
It is clear from the Bible and from Christian philosophy that God desires us to “live in the Present” in order that we can live in closer relationship with Him. This is what Lewis is aiming for in his character Screwtape’s devilish advice. In the rest of the chapter, Screwtape focuses mainly on not the past, but the future, as the main route to tempt humans away from the Present.
Thinking about the future seems harmless. We look forward in life to many things; this does not seem dangerous. Currently, I am looking forward to graduation. The excitement for things to come does not seem bad. And it isn’t. However, focus on the future in excess leads to many kinds of sins. Lewis names “fear, avarice, lust, and ambition” as future-focused sins. It is not good to look on the future with despair; neither is it good to look on it with unrooted hope. In either case, it distracts us from the present: who God is, who we are, and what actions we are taking. Lewis also makes sure to mention that God wants to think of the future in the regard that it affects our Christian duties to love and serve. God does not want us to live without thinking at all, but he does not want the future to become an idol for us.
I particularly feel the negative impact of focusing on the future in my life in the form of distraction. Often, I ignore present opportunities I have to love and serve God, saying, “Oh, I’ll do that when I’m older. It will come naturally then.” I also admit that I am afraid – afraid of never doing anything with my life, living in apathy and wasting away without purpose. Neither of these thoughts are beneficial, and they distract me from what I could be doing in the present.
Screwtape advises the “ideal” situation as a place where the man is so focused on future happiness and future virtue that he continually sacrifices present happiness and present virtue in futile attempts to reach the future. Is it possible that in our future-focused society, we are missing out on what God has for us now? I want to live my life in a way that focuses on eternity and on the present, not worrying about tomorrow, because I am only given today. God will take care of the rest.
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