Letter #13 - Pain and Pleasure

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Lesson

Letter 13-Pain and Pleasure

Diabolical Strategies Exposed:

1. Eradication of strong personal taste

Divine Strategies Revealed:

1. Good books, country roads, real pain and pleasure

2. Godly detachment

Key Quotes to Look For:

“ When He talks of their losing their selves, He only means abandoning the clamour of self-will; once they have done that, He really gives them back all their personality, and boasts (I am afraid sincerely) that when they are wholly His they will be more themselves than ever.” – Screwtape

Let’s read the following:

2 Tim 1:13-14, 1 John 5:13-21, Romans 12:1-5

2 Timothy 1:13–14 CSB

13 Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

1 John 5:13–21 CSB

13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him. 16 If anyone sees a fellow believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should ask, and God will give life to him—to those who commit sin that doesn’t lead to death. There is sin that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that doesn’t lead to death. 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the one who is born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one. We are in the true one—that is, in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

Romans 12:1–5 CSB

1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

Questions:

1. Wormwood’s patient did “wake up” from his spiritual drift and, for the time being, slipped through his fingers ¶1. Try to identify ways in which pleasure can be a divine aid and a devilish snare ¶3.

2. What is the difference between the detachment of self that God seeks and the detachment from reality that the devils seek ¶¶3–4?

3. Why would Screwtape want to eradicate small pleasures ¶3?

4. What fresh insight can we gain from Screwtape’s observations about the way that the Enemy (God) works ¶¶2, 4?

5. What pleasures and pastimes do you find spiritually nourishing?

Joe’s Thoughts

1. Screwtape refers to the man’s spiritual change as a “Second Conversion.”  In some circles this may be referred to as a “rededication of one’s life.” How would you describe this phase?

-Answers will vary.

2. What is the “asphyxiating cloud” that Screwtape is referring to?

2 Timothy 1:14 “14 Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”

1 John 5:18 “18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the one who is born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.”

How do those verses support Wormwood’s inability to attack his patient? How do we get top that point where we are surrounded by God’s “Asphyxiating Cloud?”

- The “asphyxiating cloud” is God working through the Holy Spirit. Wormwood could not attack the man because God was shielding him. This does not mean that God will protect us from every temptation or shield us from the consequences of our choices, but rather God knows that for us to be free and still make right choices there will be times when we need His intervention and help.

3. What does Screwtape say about the dangers of “real” Pain and pleasure?

- Screwtape says that the dangers of pain and pleasure are that their characteristics "are unmistakably real, and therefore, as far as they go, give the man who feels them a touchstone of reality." Wormwood’s goal was to convince his patient of false pains and pleasures—ones that have no lasting positive effect but destroy us in the end. However, once someone experiences the real thing, the false pains and pleasures fail by comparison.

4. Screwtape says that Wormwood has failed to employ either Romantic or Worldy methods of temptation. Describe both.

-Romantic – The Romantic method relies upon causing the patient to be "submerged in self-pity over imaginary distresses." This strategy would involve the patient becoming disillusioned with a life of pleasures and thereby looking fordistractions in foreign places. The patient would become depressed about his current situation and feel a sense of hopelessness that is out of proportion to his situation. The more he romanticizes about what another life would be like, the less content he becomes with his own.

Worldly –The Worldly method is based upon "palming off vanity, bustle, irony, and expensive tedium as pleasures." This method relies on convincing the patient that the world is the source of real pleasure, not God.

5. Romans 12:2 “2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

In Romans 12:2, what instruction does Paul provide for protecting ourselves against a culture that is trying to sell us “vanity, bustle, irony, and expensive tedium as pleasures”?

-Our minds, when completely inundated with the things of this world, will eventually conform to it.  Therefore, Paul tells us to renew our minds each day through God’s Word. Then, we will be acting under the influence of the Spirit. We will be able to determine what is right and act upon it. By renewing our minds, we will not be drawn into worldly pleasures that distract us from God’s will for our lives.

6. What is the difference in the ways in which God and Satan want to detach people from themselves?

-God wants us to abandon our self -will but not our individual uniqueness. Once we do, God "gives us back all of our personality...and makes us more of ourselves than ever." Satan wants us to “drift away” from our nature or our individual uniqueness and become something that we are not…a poser trying to find pleasures in the world. Screwtape says it is “always desirable to substitute the standards of the world, or convention, or fashion, for a human’s own real likings and disliking’s.”

7. Why would Screwtape want to eradicate simple pleasures like “enjoying country crickets or collecting stamps or drinking cocoa” from our life?  What are some examples of innocent pleasures that if you stopped enjoying might weaken your will?

- By enjoying the simple pleasures of life (even those without virtue) for their own sake, we become disinterested in the trappings of this world. This somehow builds a wall that guards us against the attacks of Satan.

8. Now that Wormwood’s patient has experienced these simple pleasures, what does Screwtape say is the thing to do next?

-Screwtape says that he must prevent his patient from converting his second conversion into action.

9. What would Screwtape mean by “the more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able to act, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel.”?

-Habits are built by repetition. If our habit is to continually recommit ourselves to God but not actually act on the commitment, our faith is useless. In addition, our feelings will fade over time, and it will actually make it harder for us to act on our faith in the future.

Letter 13 of The Screwtape Letters — Detailed Summary

Letter 13 is one of the most important turning points in The Screwtape Letters. Up to this point, Wormwood has been making steady progress in leading his “patient” away from God. Suddenly, however, everything changes.

Screwtape opens the letter furious because the patient has experienced genuine repentance and spiritual renewal. The patient has recognized his drift away from God, confessed his sins, and returned to a sincere Christian life. Screwtape describes this as a major setback for Hell’s plans.

What Caused the Patient’s Renewal?

Screwtape explains that Wormwood made a critical mistake: he allowed the patient to experience two simple, authentic pleasures.

Reading a book he genuinely enjoyed.

Taking a walk through the countryside to an old mill.

These activities seem ordinary, but Lewis uses them to make a profound point. The patient wasn’t trying to impress anyone. He wasn’t following a trend or performing for others. He simply enjoyed something good for its own sake.

Through these experiences, the patient rediscovered who he really was. He remembered that the fashionable friends, cynicism, vanity, and empty social life he had embraced were not his true self.

Lewis’s Idea of “Real Pleasures”

One of the central themes of Letter 13 is Lewis’s distinction between:

Real pleasures

Artificial or distorted pleasures

According to Screwtape, real pleasures are dangerous to demons because they ultimately point people toward God, who is the source of all goodness and joy.

The walk and the book were not sinful, glamorous, or exciting. They were simply good. That goodness awakened the patient’s conscience and led him back toward God.

Lewis suggests that many spiritual awakenings begin not with dramatic religious experiences but through ordinary encounters with beauty, truth, nature, art, or honest enjoyment.

The “Asphyxiating Cloud”

Screwtape describes the patient as being surrounded by an “asphyxiating cloud.”

From the demonic perspective, this cloud represents God’s grace actively protecting the patient. During moments of sincere repentance, the demons find it especially difficult to influence a person.

The image reveals Lewis’s belief that spiritual growth is not achieved solely by human effort; divine grace plays a crucial role.

A Surprising View of Evil: One of Lewis’s deepest theological ideas appears here.

Screwtape explains that evil is not a thing in itself. Instead, evil is a corruption or absence of good. Hell cannot create genuine pleasures—it can only twist pleasures that God created.

This is why the demons are so vulnerable when people encounter authentic goodness. Real goodness reconnects people with reality and therefore with God.

Screwtape’s Recovery Plan

Rather than attacking the patient’s spiritual experience directly, Screwtape proposes a more subtle strategy.

He warns Wormwood not to argue against the experience or try to erase it. Direct attacks often make people value an experience even more.

Instead, he recommends two tactics:

1. Turn the Experience into an Idea

The patient should stop enjoying the experience itself and start analyzing it, talking about it, and identifying himself with it.

The goal is to move him from living reality to self-consciousness.

Instead of enjoying beauty, he should think about himself as “the kind of person who appreciates beauty.”

Instead of loving God, he should think about himself as a spiritual person.

This subtle shift introduces pride and vanity.

2. Externalize Religion

Screwtape’s more important strategy is to redirect the patient’s renewed faith into causes, movements, slogans, and activism.

The patient should become more interested in:

Being right

Supporting causes

Joining factions

Public religious activity

than in God Himself.

Lewis is not criticizing good works. Rather, he warns that activism can become a substitute for genuine relationship with God.

A person can become deeply involved in “religious things” while gradually losing their inward devotion.

Major Themes of Letter 13

Authenticity vs. Performance

The patient reconnects with God because he experiences life honestly rather than performing for others. Lewis argues that authenticity is spiritually powerful.

Real Pleasure Leads Toward God

Simple joys—books, nature, friendship, beauty—can become pathways to spiritual renewal when received with gratitude.

Evil Cannot Create

Hell only distorts what is good. Genuine goodness belongs to God and therefore threatens demonic influence.

Religion Can Become a Distraction

One of Lewis’s sharpest warnings is that religion itself can become an idol if it is reduced to causes, identities, or political movements instead of a relationship with God.

Why Letter 13 Matters

Letter 13 marks the patient’s first major spiritual victory after a period of decline. Lewis shows that redemption often comes through surprisingly ordinary means. A favorite book, a walk in nature, a moment of honesty, or a rediscovered joy can break the spell of spiritual drift.

The letter’s central message is that the deepest spiritual dangers are often not obvious sins but distractions that pull us away from reality. Likewise, the deepest spiritual renewals often begin when we return to simple, genuine experiences of goodness and allow them to point us back toward God.

Take It Home:

1. Pray and Meditate upon Scripture:

“ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Galatians 2:20

Ask daily to be filled with the Holy Spirit, have the mind of Christ, and allow Christ to live through you.

2. Rejoice in the gifts and personality that God has given you:

Reflect upon the unique way in which God has crafted your personality, your personal tastes and likes. In what ways might you thank God for the unique way that He has made you to enjoy His world? What are some of the small pleasures of life that you enjoy? Make time to enjoy one of those small pleasures today and thank God for it.

How can you encourage others to celebrate their unique gifts, personality, and tastes? Find ways to intentionally nourish yourself and others spiritually.