Screwtape Letters Chapter 6

1. Question: How can you focus on trusting God rather than becoming overwhelmed by uncertainties about the future?

Excerpt: "We want him to be in the maximum uncertainty, so that his mind will be filled with contradictory pictures of the future, every one of which arouses hope or fear." Scripture: Matthew 6:34 – "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

2. Question: What steps can you take to remain rooted in the present moment and recognize its spiritual significance?

Excerpt: "The present is the point at which time touches eternity." Scripture: Psalm 118:24 – "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

3. Question: How can you redirect your focus from worldly concerns to eternal values?

Excerpt: "Our business is to get them away from the eternal and from the present." Scripture: Colossians 3:2 – "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

4. Question: How can you replace feelings of anxiety and fear with trust in God’s peace and provision?

Excerpt: "There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human's mind against the Enemy." Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7 – "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

5. Question: In what ways can you prioritize serving others and thinking less about yourself?

Excerpt: "He must be made to imagine that all the happenings of his life are to be centered around himself." Scripture: Philippians 2:3-4 – "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."

6. Question: How can you see life’s challenges as opportunities to grow in faith and obedience?

Excerpt: "It is your business to see that the patient never thinks of the present fear as his appointed cross." Scripture: Luke 9:23 – "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

7. Question: How can you guard against harboring hatred or fear toward people or groups you do not know personally?

Excerpt: "The hatred we want is that which is combined with fear and can be directed towards groups he does not personally know." Scripture: 1 John 4:20 – "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar."

8. Question: How can you stay focused on your personal spiritual growth rather than becoming distracted by external causes or movements?

Excerpt: "Let him do anything but act. No amount of piety in his imagination and affections will harm us if we can keep it out of his will... Let him consider himself as part of 'the cause,' instead of being an individual under discipline." Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:4 – "No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him."

9. Question: How can you cultivate genuine humility that focuses on God and loving others?

Excerpt: "The Enemy wants to turn his attention to Him, and to the neighbor whom he has to love." Scripture: Micah 6:8 – "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

10. Question: How can you recognize and resist small, seemingly harmless compromises that may lead you away from God?

Excerpt: "Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." Scripture: James 1:14-15 – "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."