Act As If You Did

Feeling unmotivated in our relationships with God and people is human nature. CS Lewis presents an idea to address this problem, and it has something to do with acting.

(sparrowsoireesblog.com)

To anyone questioning Christianity or needing more inspiration and clarity in their faith, I would highly recommend the renowned Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. Even if you’re on top of the world, I encourage you to read it. Lewis writes about our faith in such a way that makes it seem too good to be true. He portrays Christianity as an adventure – as a dance. I feel like doing something outrageous after reading a chapter.

In the book, Lewis explores an idea which speaks to people who are feeling unmotivated in their relationships. He says, “The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”

And the same is true with God. “Do not sit trying to manufacture feelings. Ask yourself, ‘If I were sure that I loved God, what would I do?’ When you have found the answer, go and do it.”

This idea is inherently human. Mothers speak to their babies as if they understand, and then the babies one day do understand. Humans treat their pets as equals, and then the dog eventually becomes like a son. Children pretend to be adults and then grow up.

Lewis then gives us a harsh perspective… “God sees before Him in fact a self-centred, greedy, grumbling, rebellious human animal. But He says, ‘Let us pretend that this is not a mere creature, but our Son. It is like Christ in so far as it is a Man, for He became Man. Let us pretend that it is also like Him in Spirit. Let us treat it as if it were what in fact it is not. Let us pretend in order to make the pretence into a reality…’ God looks at you as if you were a little Christ: Christ stands beside you to turn you into one.”

This idea of being like Christ is another great theme from the book. Lewis says, “He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has – by what I call ‘good infection.’ Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.” But how often would we get this answer if we asked Christians what the whole purpose of Christianity is?

This powerful simplification of Christianity makes one think what it looks like to be a little Christ. The beauty of Jesus’ character and truth is that we all know what it looks like. We know how we need to act. But I still find myself failing to fully appreciate what Christ did with what He had in the era in which He lived.

Jesus didn’t write a blog. He didn’t post scripture on social media. And He definitely didn’t organise fundraisers. While these deeds of course have their contemporary place, I will often view things like these as the extent of loving our neighbours, of being like Christ, and in the process negate what Jesus focused on.

There is a strong element of serendipity and spontaneity in Christ’s ministry. Jesus loved the people that He encountered. He went to the well and loved the woman who was there. He went to the fountain and healed the man who was there. These aren’t contrived situations. Jesus knew that God had brought these people into His presence for a reason: they needed to be loved.

And God will do the same with us. The man in the elevator, the woman in the aisle, and yes, the Uber driver who won’t keep quiet about his girlfriends - Jesus would engage with all of these people. So must we. He will help us.

And when we don’t feel like it, why not pretend? We are fickle beings. If you only spoke to the beggar when you felt like it, that window would stay up. If you only prayed when you felt like it, those hands would stay down. And this is where Lewis’ brilliant definition of faith comes in.

Faith is not believing in Christ in the face of contrary evidence. It is not looking up at God and saying, “There are no good reasons to believe in you, but I am so full of faith that I will.” That is lunacy.

Faith is believing in Christ when life changes and gets hard, based on how you once felt, thought, and acted when times were better. Lewis says, “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods and circumstances. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes.”

After all, let us never forget that Christian love is more about doing than feeling. “Christian love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will… He will give us feelings of love if He pleases… But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not.”