That Awful, Devilish Playlist
Fighting Isolation with Lewis’ Surprising Weapon
Sometimes the devil does his “finest work” not in tempting us to sin or in bringing a trial upon us but afterwards, as he piles up on our heads shame and sorrow. Like Adam and Eve, this has the effect of isolating us from God, off in our metaphorical bushes.
That’s because he is a fake lion of Judah who prowls around, not to save but to devour (1 Peter 5:8). His endgame was not the sin or the suffering itself but to get us alone as individuals in order to isolate us from God and have us for himself. He is content if we are left with a one-song playlist set on repeat in our heads that says, “You are the only one.” That playlist then leads us into bitterness, resignation and depression.
So what do we do? How do we pull out of that death-spiral? C.S. Lewis suggests a surprising, powerful and simple way: to read. To read.
Because, he says, this individuality that we feel in sin and suffering is itself a wound that needs to be healed. But reading forces us out of our own thoughts. And when we read others’ stories, especially those from the Bible, we learn we are not alone.
For instance, we read, in 1 Cor. 10:13:
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man
Then we read the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We see how the Bible does not shy away from telling us their sins. Then we say, “Man, they were just as messed up as me.” Or we read of their sufferings and learn that what Paul said is true: they experienced the same sufferings that I do. My trials really are common to man.
Yes, yes they are. They are common throughout history and even in your church. Whatever you are faced with, you are not the only one - not just in general, but in Sunday worship. So a little transparency goes a long way. When you expose your own temptations, the most likely response you will hear is not, “Yuck,” but “Wow, I thought I was the only one.”
Yet the most important thing is not that we share the same shame and sorrow but the same Savior. We beat a path back to the cross together, for his comfort is greater, because his tomb is empty.