The Gentle Slope to Nothing
Screwtape reveals Nothing: The Christians describe the Enemy as one ‘without whom Nothing is strong’. And Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man’s best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, in drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off. You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.
—C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
C.S. Lewis warns that the greatest danger to our souls may not be spectacular sin, but quiet drift. “Nothing” can be strong enough to steal away our best years—not in bold rebellion, but in endless distractions, idle habits, and meaningless thoughts that slowly edge us away from God.
The enemy doesn’t need dramatic victories; small compromises and wasted time can do the work. The safest road to destruction, Lewis writes, is the gentle slope—soft, easy, and unnoticed. Staying close to God means guarding our hearts daily, choosing the Light over the slow fade into nothingness. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics