Textbook: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
Imagine being one of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. The severe scarcity of food leaves you completely incapable of nourishing yourself. Thankfully, your survival is miraculously guaranteed by God’s generous daily provision of manna. However, as day after day passes with the same meal over and over, the life-saving manna you once found sweet and satisfying becomes increasingly repetitive and unenjoyable. As this dissatisfaction grows, you begin to reminisce on the rich and varied Egyptian cuisine you once enjoyed. Nostalgia for the juicy melons, the crisp onions, and the savory meats produces a strong craving that breeds discontentment with God’s provision. Your equally dissatisfied brethren then join you in resenting God’s generosity, longing for the diet of your captivity, and mourning for your culinary lusts to be fulfilled.
The Screwtape Letters is a collection of fictional letters written by a made-up demon named Screwtape. Each letter sees him teach various tactics to his nephew Wormwood for use against a spiritually young Christian they call “the patient.”
When studying this book, it is crucial to remember that it is satirical and fictional. Its author, C. S. Lewis, advises us, “not everything that Screwtape says should be assumed to be true even from his own angle.” The book was not written to explain how demons communicate with one another nor how they are ranked in Satan’s army. Furthermore, it is not an authoritative source on doctrines such as eternal security. Rather, this book’s purpose is to provide deep insights into the various temptations and tactics demons use against us as believers. This is a worthwhile study, for 2 Corinthians 2:11 says, “So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” Furthermore, Ephesians 6:11 calls us to, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Thus, our goal in studying The Screwtape Letters is to learn how to recognize and resist demonic attacks by tying its content to the Bible’s teachings.
“The contemptuous way in which you spoke of gluttony as a means of catching souls, in your last letter, only shows your ignorance. One of the great achievements of the last hundred years has been to deaden the human conscience on that subject, so that by now you will hardly find a sermon preached or a conscience troubled about it in the whole length and breadth of Europe. This has largely been effected by concentrating all our efforts on gluttony of Delicacy, not gluttony of Excess. Your patient's mother, as I learn from the dossier and you might have learned from Glubose, is a good example. She would be astonished — one day, I hope, will be — to learn that her whole life is enslaved to this kind of sensuality, which is quite concealed from her by the fact that the quantities involved are small. But what do quantities matter, provided we can use a human belly and palate to produce querulousness, impatience, uncharitableness, and self-concern? Glubose has this old woman well in hand. She is a positive terror to hostesses and servants. She is always turning from what has been offered her to say with a demure little sign and a smile “Oh please, please . . .all I want is a cup of tea, weak but not too weak, and the teeniest weeniest bit of really crisp toast”. You see? Because what she wants is smaller and less costly than what has been set before her, she never recognises as gluttony her determination to get what she wants, however troublesome it may be to others. At the very moment of indulging her appetite she believes that she is practising temperance. In a crowded restaurant she gives a little scream at the plate which some overworked waitress has set before her and says, “Oh, that's far, far too much! Take it away and bring me about a quarter of it”. If challenged, she would say she was doing this to avoid waste; in reality, she does it because the particular shade of delicacy to which we have enslaved her is offended by the sight of more food than she happens to want.” (Lewis)
As seen here, gluttony is not just limited to the act of excessive eating; rather, it encompasses varying forms of greediness, especially those related to food. The main one exploited by the demon Glubose is the patient’s mother’s obsession with experiencing sensual pleasure from receiving small, simple, and specific portions of food and drink. As Screwtape notes, the mother is unaware that behind her demands for this pleasure lies multiple sinful attitudes, among them is ingratitude. This is apparent in her unwillingness to accept the meals served to her. Instead of being grateful, she disregards others’ time and effort through demands for smaller portions to suit her carnal desires. Despite claiming such behavior is done to reduce waste or cost, it instead stems from an ungrateful heart given to gluttony of delicacy.
Like the patients’ mother is the Israelites in Numbers 11:4-6, whose ingratitude prevented them from appreciating God’s daily provision of manna, “Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” The root cause of the Israelites’ ingratitude for God’s provision was their carnal lusts for the culinary pleasures of their former lives in Egyptian slavery. Despite their current situation and diet providing them freedom from the brutal captivity they once endured, their greed for its worldly pleasures prevented them from appreciating God’s provision.
A similar form of ingratitude can also take hold of the believer’s mind. Specifically, this occurs when we desire the former vices and lifestyles we had when under sin’s slavery prior to receiving Christ’s salvation. This war between the desires of the flesh and those of the Holy Spirit is guaranteed to us, as Galatians 5:17 notes. However, Romans 8:5-8 explain the detrimental consequences that occur in our walk with God when we ungratefully reject His blessings to greedily pursue our flesh’s desires, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Ingratitude for the freedom and blessings we have in Christ leads us into fleshly bondage, which takes us outside of God’s protection and provision, severely disrupts our relationship with Him, and consumes our minds with our flesh’s selfish lusts.
Avoiding these consequences and overcoming gluttonous behavior requires adopting the thankful mindset Scripture commands. For example, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 states, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Gratitude in times of lack or difficulty strengthens us in the Spirit to fight temptations to accuse God of unfairness or lusts for worldly pleasures others enjoy. Next, Colossians 3:17 commands, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Allowing gratitude towards God to permeate all we do keeps us content with the callings and blessings He has graciously given us. Finally, Hebrews 12:28 says, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” Though we may receive few material blessings in this life, we must remember that our true treasure is the eternal blessings we will receive after death. Thus, continuous gratitude towards God for all He gives us, has done for us, and permits in our lives is key to fighting gluttonous and greedy lusts and temptations.
“The real value of the quiet, unobtrusive work which Glubose has been doing for years on this old woman can be gauged by the way in which her belly now dominates her whole life. The woman is in what may be called the “All-I-want” state of mind. All she wants is a cup of tea properly made, or an egg properly boiled, or a slice of bread properly toasted. But she never finds any servant or any friend who can do these simple things “properly” — because her “properly” conceals an insatiable demand for the exact, and almost impossible, palatal pleasures which she imagines she remembers from the past; a past described by her as “the days when you could get good servants” but known to us as the days when her senses were more easily pleased and she had pleasures of other kinds which made her less dependent on those of the table. Meanwhile, the daily disappointment produces daily ill temper: cooks give notice and friendships are cooled. If ever the Enemy introduces into her mind a faint suspicion that she is too interested in food, Glubose counters it by suggesting to her that she doesn't mind what she eats herself but “does like to have things nice for her boy”. In fact, of course, her greed has been one of the chief sources of his domestic discomfort for many years.” (Lewis)
Another key attitude of gluttony is revealed here, that being self-centeredness. As illustrated by the patient’s mother, she is so consumed with what she wants that the standards of her desires become raised to impossible criteria to fulfill. Because her selfish desires are unmet, her personality towards others becomes bitter, impatient, and self-absorbed. As Screwtape notes, these consequences of gluttony have introduced strife and division between her and others, especially her son.
The Israelites’ gluttony in Numbers 11:4-6 likewise brought division between them and God. By allowing their lusts for the Egyptian delicacies to produce self-centeredness, they fell into a mournful self-pity that belittled not only God’s provision, but His ability to adequately provide for His people. Verse 10 makes clear that their behavior caused “the anger of the Lord [to blaze] hotly.”
Likewise, for us, the self-absorption that comes with gluttonous lusts and behaviors severely disrupts our relationship with others and God. For example, when consumed with our own interests and lusts, we disobey Philippians 2:3-4 by considering them more important than the needs and desires of others. Next, self-absorption will bring severe division and quarrels with others, as James 4:1-2 note. Finally, as we saw in Romans 8:5-8, self-centeredness causes us to live in the flesh, which makes us fall out of step with the Holy Spirit and sets our minds against Him.
Fortunately, Scripture reveals the solution for self-centeredness: a life surrendered to Jesus Christ. For example, Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” When we make God our first priority, we are promised His perfect provision for all our needs. Next, Galatians 2:20 states, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” The only way to live in eternal victory over the self-life is by living dead to our old life in the flesh and alive to Christ’s in the spirit through faith in Christ and total dependence on the Holy Spirit’s power. Finally, James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Through our submission to God, we receive the Holy Spirit’s strength to overcome demonically sourced temptations to become self-absorbed. Thus, overcoming self-centered living that breeds gluttony is only possible through living dead to ourselves and alive in Christ.
“Now your patient is his mother's son. While working your hardest, quite rightly, on other fronts, you must not neglect a little quiet infiltration in respect of gluttony. Being a male, he is not so likely to be caught by the “All I want” camouflage. Males are best turned into gluttons with the help of their vanity. They ought to be made to think themselves very knowing about food, to pique themselves on having found the only restaurant in the town where steaks are really “properly” cooked. What begins as vanity can then be gradually turned into habit. But, however you approach it, the great thing is to bring him into the state in which the denial of any one indulgence — it matters not which, champagne or tea, sole Colbert or cigarettes — “puts him out”, for then his charity, justice, and obedience are all at your mercy.
“Mere excess in food is much less valuable than delicacy. Its chief use is as a kind of artillery preparation for attacks on chastity. On that, as on every other subject, keep your man in a condition of false spirituality. Never let him notice the medical aspect. Keep him wondering what pride or lack of faith has delivered him into your hands when a simple enquiry into what he has been eating or drinking for the last twenty-four hours would show him whence your ammunition comes and thus enable him by a very little abstinence to imperil your lines of communication. If he must think of the medical side of chastity, feed him the grand lie which we have made the English humans believe, that physical exercise in excess and consequent fatigue are specially favourable to this virtue. How they can believe this, in face of the notorious lustfulness of sailors and soldiers, may well be asked. But we used the schoolmasters to put the story about — men who were really interested in chastity as an excuse for games and therefore recommended games as an aid to chastity. But this whole business is too large to deal with at the tail-end of a letter.” (Lewis)
As seen in this section of the letter, pride is one other root of gluttony of delicacy. As noted by Screwtape, a self-indulgent satisfaction can be derived from depriving ourselves of pleasures both natural and ungodly. A false sense of spirituality can be generated from this willful abstinence, which is done not to obey and glorify God, but to become puffed up in pride. As we previously noted from Philippians 2:3, all our behaviors should be performed apart from selfish ambition or conceit, for otherwise they only serve our flesh and displease God. Furthermore, James 4:6 notes how God openly opposes the proud. Rescue from these consequences, as well as the gluttony of delicacy, is only possible through humility. Psalm 29:9 states, “[God] leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.”
Beyond ingratitude, self-centeredness, and pride, discontentment is yet another major cause of any type of gluttony. As seen in in Numbers 11:4-6, not only were the Israelites ungrateful for God’s providence and self-absorbed through their selfish desires, but they also were dissatisfied with their circumstances and food. This was despite God having graciously delivered them from Egypt’s brutal slavery and keeping them sufficiently nourished in the wilderness. Numbers 11:31-33 reveal that God did not take His people’s discontented behavior lightly, “Then a wind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground. 32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague.”
While discontentment is likewise very destructive to our relationship with God and ability to serve Him, Scripture reveals the many blessings of contentment. For example, Hebrews 13:5 states, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”” Contentment with God’s provision enables us to trust that He is with us, be certain He will meet our needs, and avoid wasting time chasing selfish pursuits. Also, 1 Timothy 6:6-8 teach, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Contentment with the blessings God has gifted us is a necessary defense against temptations to live for worldly pleasures and gain. In addition, Luke 12:15 states, “And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”” When we are content with God’s provision and blessings, our hearts are guarded against selfishness, greed, and jealousy. Finally, the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Contentment in knowing that Christ has promised us His strength and protection enables us, like Paul, to survive all circumstances, no matter how severe. Thus, contentment not only counters gluttonous temptations, but also increases our trust in God’s provision, protects us from worrying and covetousness, and keeps us reliant on Christ’s strength amid trying circumstances.
As the account in Numbers 11:4-10 and 31-34 demonstrates, surrendering to gluttonous desires breeds spiritual decay, carnal obsessions, and, in some cases, physical destruction. However, gluttony is not limited to just excessive eating, but also encompasses obsessions to fulfil desires that, while seemingly small, temperate, or disciplined, are carnal, selfish, and spiritually destructive. Thankfully, victory over gluttonous temptations is possible, for Scripture reveals to us that identifying and overcoming them includes surrendering instances of ingratitude, self-centeredness, pride, and discontentment in our hearts. Living dead to these sinful attitudes through our co-crucified life in Christ and the Holy Spirit’s power opens our lives to the incredible blessings of living in thankfulness to God, seeking His Kingdom first, and being content in all situations.
Reference:
Lewis, C. S. The Screwtape Letters. Self-published, 2025.
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