Mere Christianity -- Book 3, Chap. 9
Charity
Lewis has previously discussed the 4 Cardinal Virtues (Justice, Wisdom, Fortitude, Temperance) and, more briefly, the 3 Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity).
Very briefly, remember that man’s chief end is ultimate good or happiness or enjoyment, which can only be found in God. To enter into that joy (the beatific vision of God) we can do so only by God’s supernatural grace.
But there is something such as “natural” or “lower” good, which can be achieved by developing both the intellectual and cardinal virtues. We achieve this “natural” happiness when our soul is rightly in order – Reason à Will à Feelings. Through our innate powers of Reason everyone has access to the natural virtues (intellectual and cardinal) and thereby can achieve a human or natural good.
However, they can take you only so far in achieving happiness in this world. We enter into the “highest good” through the “theological virtues,” which direct the human toward God Himself and our union with Him. We must be clear that our salvation is completely the work of God on our behalf through Jesus Christ – we are “in Christ” positionally holy because of Christ’s meritorious virtues, not ours. But we are now being formed in Christ (becoming) and the “theological virtues,” which are given only by God’s grace, are the means through which we are becoming what we already are in Christ.
This is the movement of the whole fleet sailing together in formation toward a predetermined goal that we discussed in chap. 1 of book 3 (The Three Parts of Morality). Whereas the (1) individual ship, and the (2) relationship between ships make use of the intellectual and cardinal virtues, the whole fleet makes use of the theological virtues.
In chap. 7 (Forgiveness), we began to deal with the theological virtue of “charity.” But more needs to be said . . .
Charity Not Merely Almsgiving
The term “charity” has been reduced to meaning only the giving of alms to the poor. And you can easily see how that is possible: someone who is practicing the virtue of charity would most likely be giving to the poor.
But the word originally had a much wider meaning in the Christian community: it meant to love in the Christian sense.
Charity Not Emotion
By Christian love, we must stress that we are not talking about our emotions or feelings. (Reason à Will à Emotions). Rather, Christian love belongs to the will; a love we naturally have for ourselves and need to strengthen towards other people.
Remember earlier how Lewis said that “forgiveness” does not mean that we must first “like” ourselves in order to “love” ourselves. Rather, it means simply that we wish our own good.
The same is true for Christian charity for others -- we are not speaking of our affections or liking others.
We need to be clear that when we speak of “liking” or “affection” of someone we are not speaking of something we can control. It just is. It is neither a sin (vice) nor a virtue anymore than liking or hating a certain food is a vice or virtue.
However, what we “do” with our feelings is either sinful or virtuous.
Now, it is true that it is easier to be charitable towards people we like. That’s why it is always profitable to encourage ourselves to like people as much as possible, not because this “liking” itself is a virtue, but because it is a help to it.
We must also be careful of not liking someone too much to the degree that it makes us uncharitable towards another, or, if our “liking” begins to conflict with our charity towards someone.
Why is this distinction between “charity” and “liking” someone important?
Because we don’t have to wait until we have “manufactured” certain affectionate feelings toward someone to love them.
Just begin to love your neighbor and you will soon find that the affections naturally follow.
But, be sure you do this out of the right reason though, because people are not fooled by patronage or showing off.
Whenever you do good to another self, just because it is a self, made (like us) by God, and desiring its own happiness as we desire ours, we shall have learned to love it a little more or, at least, to dislike it less.
At first, Christian charity sounds cold. But that’s because we normally think of it as being towards those we like or feel affectionate towards.
The Christian, trying to treat every one kindly, finds himself liking more and more people as he goes on – including people he could not even have imagined himself liking at the beginning.
And this works in the other direction as well:
The more cruel you are, the more you will hate; and the more you hate, the more cruel you will become – and so on in a vicious circle for ever.
And both good and evil increase with compound interest:
Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.
How Do We Love God?
And this is also true when we speak of loving God. Nobody can have devout feelings toward God at all times. We cannot obey His commandment to love the Lord our God will ALL our heart, mind, and soul. That’s why Jesus came to save us!
So what are we to do?
Begin to love God and the feelings will follow. Christian love is an act of the will, made possible only by God’s grace.
Ask yourself, “If I were sure that I loved God, what would I do?” When you have found the answer, go and do it.
He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.
