Letter to a Junior Tempter Part II

THE DISTURBING PERSPECTIVE OF DEMONS

Again there was a breach in Demon Intelligence. This is the second time correspondence was obtained from a Senior Devil named Slipnoose to his nephew, a Junior Tempter called Mugwort. Remember, dear reader, that demons have a warped perspective. To them, right is wrong, good is bad, and God is the Enemy. However, this letter could provide insight into the forces at work in your own life and, ultimately, aid you in resisting them. So, if you do choose to read, proceed with extreme caution and keep your wits about you.

My Dear Mugwort,

I was wondering why your letters had stopped, but now I know the truth. Brace yourself, young beast, for I have never been so furious with you. My sources tell me the worst has taken place. Your boy has become, please know how deeply it disgusts me to even write the word, a Christian. Oh, the horror! The monstrosity! Despite all the care and effort I put into my previous letters, how did you manage to fail so miserably? And then to not even tell me directly! You worthless smear of toadslime! I hope you cower when you consider how much you will suffer for this unforgivable mishap of yours. Know that I am utterly ashamed of you and wish you the absolute worst for the rest of your miserable existence!

However, luckily for you, I consider myself a deeply reasonable creature, so I will postpone your punishments and leave you on the case for the time being. You will never receive forgiveness for this, but there is much damage to still be done in your young man’s life. So, let us move on to how you can make yourself useful in spite of your grievous sin.

My first piece of advice is that you should take full advantage of the newness of your boy’s condition. Weave great expectations in his mind, the more grandiose the better. Make him believe that belonging to the Enemy means his life will always be on the up and up. The best way to do this is to play into his sense of entitlement and comparison.

Get him looking at the people around him. Focus his attention on the good things they have: caring friends, academic success, opportunity, romance, whatever. Make him believe that if he does a good enough job of following the Enemy’s demands, he’ll be handed those things on a silver platter too. Make him think that he can earn a happy life by following the rules.

This is a wonderful little game, for suffering is inevitable for every human creature, especially those that belong to Him. Our Enemy has designed it to be so. In His twisted way, He means to use their pain as a means to make them more like Him. Disgusting if you ask me, but easy to get this mixed up in their feeble minds. Play your cards right, and when your boy tastes his first trial it will catch him completely unaware. He’ll feel betrayed by his beloved Father (can you even stomach that He lets them call Him that?) and, if you’re lucky, stop communicating with Him altogether. That’s when we’re really free to do our best work.

Once your boy has developed some proper disillusionment and bitterness, entice him to find his satisfaction in the stuff of this world. Stay away from things the Enemy would obviously dislike. Yes, you read correctly. While you could destroy him with something obviously bad, like illicit sex or some wonderfully lurid addiction, confuse him by capturing his heart with something he would consider good. Tempt him to make this good thing the center of his world, his highest happiness. This can be nearly anything: the opinion of his friends, comfort, security, even how well he believes he’s serving the Enemy. Humans are easily distracted. It will throw everything out of balance and perfectly set the stage for my last piece of advice.

“Once he realizes he’s off course, make him believe that there is no hope of fixing it. Drown him in guilt. “

Once he realizes he’s off course, make him believe that there is no hope of fixing it. Drown him in guilt. One of the most disgusting aspects of the Enemy’s relationship to these human creatures is His incessant offerings of restoration. If He gets His way, every time they fall down, He’ll pick them back up. It’s obscene. However, He needs their cooperation. He never forces. So, be sure to capture your boy’s attention first and have him only think about his failure, not of how the Enemy has repeatedly promised His help.

Follow my instructions exactly this time, Mugwort, and perhaps you will be able to at least steal your boy’s joy and create some decent confusion. I plan to visit you soon. I suggest you do your best to make this situation as bad as possible before I get to you.

Your deeply disappointed and ever-watching uncle,

Slipnoose

This piece was inspired by C.S. Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters. This book features a collection of satirical letters from a Senior Demon named Screwtape to his nephew and Junior Tempter, Wormwood. Read it online here: bit.ly/2MufQBR

Read the first letter from Uncle Slipnoose here: bit.ly/3GU4uC9