February 23
"If God were good, He would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty He would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power or both. This is the problem of pain, in its simplest form." CS Lewis, Problem of Pain p560
February 22
Lewis speculates about glory that is to come and then warns against too much of such thought. He provides this directive when contemplating glory. "It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor's glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken." CS Lewis, Weight of Glory, p45.
Once again Lewis compares self-reflection to reflecting on that which exists outside of oneself. This is a recurring theme in Lewis literature, and is indicative of Lewis practical and logical nature. Throughout his Letters to an American Lady he repeatedly gives advice, acknowledges the difficulty of following the advice, but nevertheless says – just follow it. In the beginning of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe the Faun has intentions of betraying Lucy to the Evil White Witch. The Faun, after spending time with Lucy, feels complete remorse and begins to break down in self-loathing. Lucy's advice (suggestive of Lewis) to the Faun is for him to simply do what is right. Yes, the Faun felt deeply, and yes Lucy is sympathizes, but the plan of action remains clear. The Faun himself recognizes this when in response to Lucy's request to let her go he says, "Of course I will, I've got to, I see that now." While Lewis has a phenomenal grasp on human intellect, emotion, and logic - and he loves to delve into the fantasy world – he continues to remain engaged with the reality of ethical obligations in his writings and the Platonic concept of morality, which for him flows from God.
