Wednesday: Quotes from Lewis

So I'm a fan of CS Lewis, and I think I'm going to start doing quotes from him. CS Lewis is a fantastic writer and seems to understand human beings quite well. I think that's the part that always amazes me about CS Lewis: his grandeur image of God and his amazingly accurate description of humanity.

I just read The Great Divorce. So we'll begin there. :) It's a book about heaven and hell and is quite interesting.

"Don’t you remember on earth—there were things too hot to touch with your finger but you could drink them all right? Shame is like that. If you will accept it—if you will drink the cup to the bottom—you will find it very nourishing: but try to do anything else with it and it scalds.”

-C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, p. 61

At first, I was confused by this quote. But now, I begin to understand it a bit more. Being shamed can lead to humility, but only if you take that shame and swallow it. Accept it and don't look back. But if you bring that shame up and try to use it with people or situations, it will just burn you. It will not only be useless, but hurt you more in the end.