Three Deadly Sins In C. S. Lewis The Screwtape Letter

Three of the Deadly Sins

The Screwtape Letters, written by C.S. Lewis, is comprised of the letters from a demon named Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood. The villainous Screwtape's letters provide Woodworm with advice on how to corrupt his “patient”, a Christian. Maliciously, they use the seven deadly sins to try and convert their Christian patients. The three sins that are discussed the most are lust, gluttony, and pride. Irrefutably, these sins are ruinous to anyone who practices them.

Lust, one of the deadly sins, is viciously immoral and tempting. It is described as a strong desire for something or someone, mainly sex. In C.S. Lewis’s astounding novel, The Screwtape Letters, Screwtape explains that, “The Enemy’s demand on humans takes the form of a dilemma; either complete abstinence or unmitigated monogamy. Ever since our Father’s first great victory, we have rendered the former very difficult to them” (Lewis 93). Basically, this means that due to our own sexual desires, we have purposefully ignored God’s demand that we stay chaste and faithful. Lust is about getting the personal satisfaction of what you want while ignoring the feelings of others, which can lead to destroyed relationships.

Gluttony, which is the obsession of food or drink, is another one of the deadly sins.

Screwtape, the protagonist, describes the vices of gluttony here, “But what do quantities matter, provided we can use a human belly and palate to produce querulousness, impatience, uncharitableness, and self-concern?” (87). This means that it does not matter whether you eat modestly or a lot. Truthfully, what matters is becoming so obsessed with how much you are eating that it starts to lead to health problems such as anorexia or obesity. Evidently, gluttony can be incredibly disastrous and harmful towards your wellbeing depending on whether you are eating far too much or too

little.
One of the most particularly toxic and damaging of all the sins is pride, which means to hold excessively high opinion of oneself importance . Surprisingly, humility can sometimes lead to pride as C.S. Lewis’s character, Screwtape, reveals here, “Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, ‘By Jove! I’m being humble’, and almost immediately pride-pride at his own humility-will appear” (69). Being humble can lead to pride when you imagine yourself superior to others in the measure of being humble. Besides being humble, pride can also arise in additional, more obvious ways such as being wealthy, successful, or famous. As a result of pride, having a high self-esteem can hurt and annoy those around you.
In summary, lust, gluttony, and pride, three of the deadly sins, can ruin lives because it will cause others to despise you and hurt your wellbeing, while endangering your relationship with God. Lust is terrible because while at times personal satisfaction is okay, it is not acceptable at the expense of others. Occasionally, gluttony can lead to major health issues, essentially anorexia or obesity. Pride leads to ruined relationships. These three sins are detrimental. Resisting them is important. The significance of realizing that what you are doing is sinful and unhealthy, and trying to discontinue the habit can help your wellbeing.

Works cited
Lewis, Clive Staples. The Screwtape Letters. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. 69, 87, 93. Print.