C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

For centuries, scholars and laymen have attempted to answer how one goes about living a “good” life. While many have tried to answer the question as a whole, they fail to acknowledge the small parts. Mere Christianity does not attempt to offer a complete answer, but offers suggestions from a Christian viewpoint, backed with Biblical standing. In order to live the “good” life, you must invite Christ into your life and let him change you from the inside out. This change bleeds into your everyday life and comes in two parts: killing the prideful part of yourself that thinks no change should be made, and the results that are a byproduct of the change the Holy Spirit makes in you.

        In the first book, Lewis points out that we are inherently sinful beings, and often know the

right thing to do, but choose not to do it. In Chapter Two, Lewis says “Progress means not just

changing, but changing for the better.” (pg 13). Part of changing for the better includes

acknowledging that you are a flawed being, and cannot live a “good” life on your own. When

becoming a Christian, you invite God to live inside of you, and change you for the better. But in

order to do this, you must kill the part of yourself that is too prideful to admit that you need

change. If your mindset is one that believes you know the way to live, you are unable to admit to

anything lesser. In The Three-Personal God, Lewis explains that if a man' s mind and character

are in the wrong condition, He cannot show Himself to the man. Therefore, without

acknowledging that your heart is in the wrong place, God cannot begin a work in you that will

last, and truly change you for the better. Lewis admits that “even the best Christian that ever

lives is not acting on his own steam–he is only nourishing or protecting a life he could have

never acquired by his own efforts.” (pg 63). This goes back to the point that we cannot choose

the “good” life ourselves, but must allow a work to be done in us in order to even begin to

comprehend the ultimate goodness that Christ offers. To a secular man, Christianity makes

claims like no other religion. It claims to change your life in a way that is incomparable to

anything else, but that is only because it is true. Until one is able to admit they need change, that

change cannot begin to take place.

In Book Four, Lewis points out that men are meant to be mirrors of Christ to others. Because Christ is not physically on Earth, it is necessary for Christians to act as an extension of Him, living out the same principles that Jesus taught during His time on Earth. However, we cannot live out that life on our own, which is why it is crucial to invite Christ to change us from the inside out. You must rework the framework of your own mind, and start to think of living like Christ. Once that shift is made, you realize Christ is instilling His life in you, which propels you farther towards the goal of living the “good” life. Lewis uses the analogy of tin soldiers, explaining that when Christ injects his Zoe in you, you come to life. Formerly, you were a tin soldier with only the potential to live. But when Christ lives in you, you begin to really strive towards living the “good” life. Colossians 2 proves the point that Lewis is making, saying “When you were dead in trespasses and uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses.” (Colossians 2:13). Because we are unable to be good on our own, God calls us to repent, and turn to Him to change us. That is why He sent His son as the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf, so that we are able to have this relationship with Him. 

As Lewis makes clear in His writing, we are unable to live the “good” life on our own merit. The only way to truly strive and successfully live a “good” life is to admit our shortcomings, and allow Christ to work. That work should be evident, and should ultimately point others to Christ. A “good” life is not measured by accomplishments or titles, but by the way in which you point others to the ultimate good and higher power: God.