"The Moral Law, or Law of Human Nature, is not simply a fact about human behaviour in the same way as the Law of Gravitation is, or may be, simply a fact about how heavy objects behave.  On the other hand, it is not a mere fancy, for we cannot get rid of the idea, and most of the things we say and think about men would be reduced to nonsense if we did." Mere Christianity

What Lewis is suggesting is that this sense of right and wrong, which all people in all times and all places have had, points to another reality beyond ourselves--a supernatural reality.  We cannot reduce the moral law to simply being a fact of human behavior--because we don't behave according to it.  Nor can we say that the moral law is merely a quirk of human imagination.  If that was so then how could we say that there was anything wrong with Hitler gassing 6 million Jews?  Nor can we say that our ideas about morality are constructed by society simply because we find these patterns of behavior convenient.  Our sense of right and wrong isn't convenient sometimes--like when we want to make love to someone in a certain situation and the moral law tells us not to.  Thus, the only alternative is to believe that the moral law is a reality outside of us--outside humanity altogether--but a reality which presses in on us, seeking to make us conform to a certain standard.

To some, this pointer to a supernatural reality comes as the fragrance of life.  To others it is the smell of death.  Some seek to argue it away.  Others welcome it with open arms.  But perhaps most of us live somewhere between these two extremes.  Most of us want to argue for the moral law when it is convenient to our own ends.  And we want to deny the reality of the moral law whenever we find its demands uncomfortable.

However, as Lewis points out, this simply will not do.  The moral law is there, outside of us, and it is what it is whether we like it or not.  That being the case, does it not then make sense, for those of us who believe in Christ, to pray:

"O God, our Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name, bestow upon us, at the beginning of each day, that grace which shall keep us in the fellowship of the Christian way.  Grant unto each one of us that heavenly guidance and control, in all our labors, pleasures, and trials, which will maintain our hearts in peace with one another and with you.  Graciously help and prosper us in the doing of our various duties with a willing and cheerful mind; and defend us all, by your almighty power, both from inward evil and from outward harm, so that when the day is ended it may not leave us in sorrow, strife, or shame, but in true unity and thankful rest, through your merciful favor and your forgiving love.  This we pray in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen." Adapted from the Book of Common Worship

"Human beings, after all, have some sense; they see that you cannot have any real safety or happiness except in a society where every one plays fair, and it is because they see this that they try to behave decently." Mere Christianity

It is easy to think when you are having trouble in relationships with other people: I am fine when I am left alone.  But then when you are left alone are you truly fine?  Don't you find rising within your heart certain desires which your conscience tells you are wrong?  Don't you find certain thoughts crossing your mind which you know are uncharitable?  And isn't the whole problem of being left alone, the problem of solitary monasticism, that you are in fact being selfish about wanting time and space all to yourself?  Those of us who are not solitary monks perhaps secretly want even God to be excluded from our alone time, our alone space.

So when one is alone and facing all of these inner demons one is tempted to think: the solution is to spend more time with others--that will bring me out of myself--out of this melancholy.  But then when one does spend more time with others relational problems erupt sooner or later.

Lewis is right when he says elsewhere that the moral law deals both with behavior between persons and cleanliness inside of persons.  Lewis uses the analogy of navy ships traveling in convoy--they need to be kept ship-shape on the inside, but also need to be kept from colliding with each other.  Both aspects are important.  And the reality of this moral law must, as Lewis insists over and over again, simply be "seen".  If one wants to see through basic principles then what one is really longing for is an invisible world.

However, seeing the reality of the moral law does not solve our inward or outward problems.  The moral law solves neither the problem of the solitary monk nor the person who lives in community with others.  In fact, there is only one person who can solve both of those problems--the one perfect human being--the one who was perfect when alone--and the one who was wholly righteous in community.  That is the God-Man Jesus Christ.

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and human beings, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all human beings--the testimony given in its proper time." 1 Timothy 2:5-6

Lord Jesus, live in me both when I am alone and when I am with others.  When I am alone may my focus not be myself but you.  When I am with others may I recognize your image in them and serve them as I would you, for your honor and glory.  Amen.

"The laws of nature, as applied to stones or trees, may only mean 'what Nature, in fact, does'.  But if you turn to the Law of Human Nature, the Law of Decent Behaviour, it is a different matter.  That law certainly does not mean 'what human beings, in fact, do';  for as I said before, many of them do not obey this law at all, and none of them obey it completely.  The law of gravity tells you what stones do if you drop them; but the Law of Human Nature tells you what human beings ought to do and do not." Mere Christianity

Have you ever had the experience of looking at a tree, or a stone for that matter, and being impressed by its beauty and perfection?  I have certainly felt that . . . and more.  When looking at certain parts of God's creation I have felt that those parts are exactly what they should be . . . and by contrast I have realized that I am not.  In fact, the only imperfection in creation, outside of humanity, seems to be that imperfection wrought by humanity.  Thus, not only does creation tell forth the glory of God, it also reminds us of the fallen glory of humanity.

This explains the movement of the 19th Psalm from: "The heavens declare the glory of God" to "The law of the Lord is perfect" to "Who can discern his errors?  Forgive my hidden faults."

Perhaps the next time you are out under the stars, or sitting beside a babbling brook, or listening to the whispering of the wind in a tree, the following prayer would not be inappropriate:

Almighty and most merciful Father, I have erred and strayed from your ways like a lost sheep.  I have followed too much the devices and desires of my own heart.  I have offended against your holy laws.  I have left undone those things which I ought to have done; and I have done those things which I ought not to have done; and there is no health in me.  But you, O Lord, have mercy upon me, miserable offender that I am.  Spare me, O God, as I confess my faults.  Restore me, for I am penitent, according to your promises declared unto humanity in Christ Jesus our Lord.  And grant, O most merciful Father, for Jesus' sake, that I may hereafter live a life of beauty and perfection, more like this tree which obeys you without thinking, to the glory of your holy name.  Amen. (Adapted from The Book of Common Worship)

"The most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of your own nature and set it up as the thing you ought to follow at all costs.  There is not one of them which will not make us into devils if we set it up as an absolute guide."  Mere Christianity

Making anything in myself ultimate--my instincts, my needs, my desires, my gifts, my reason--will inevitably lead to destruction.  The only safe course is to put Christ first.  I must obey the Law, the Word, which is outside of myself--God's Law, God's Word.  And I can only do that by God's power.

"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

If I put God and his kingdom purposes first, the rest of life will take care of itself, all the puzzle pieces will fall into place.  Christ in me is my only hope of glory.

"Grant, O our God, that we may know Thee, love Thee, and rejoice in Thee; and if in this life we cannot do these things fully, grant that we may at least progress in them from day to day, for Christ's sake.  Amen." St. Anselm (1033-1109)

"We all know what it feels like to be prompted by instinct--by mother love, or sexual instinct, or the instinct for food.  It means that you feel a strong want or desire to act in a certain way.  And, of course, we sometimes do feel just that sort of desire to help another person: and no doubt that desire is due to the herd instinct.  But feeling a desire to help is quite different from feeling that you ought to help whether you want to or not." Mere Christianity

There are certain things which come naturally to me.  Lewis mentions three of them: protecting my children, having sex and eating!

First of all, there is my parental instinct.  It is amazing how my life changed once I became a father.  The moment my wife told me she was pregnant with our first child I began to re-orient my life around providing for that child.  I had this overwhelming, gut-level sense of responsibility.  If anything or anyone threatened my children at any time I'm sure I would do my very best to defend my children and ward off any threat.

But my parental instinct doesn't keep me from being selfish.  For instance, while I was writing this blog one of my sons came in the room and started talking to me.  I told him that I was working and needed to be left alone.  I had MY thing to do--and that thing came first!

Then there is my sexual instinct.  This instinct has led to certain good things . . . three of them currently live in my house, and they are ages 13, 11 and 7.  But if I gave this instinct its head I could probably populate whole villages . . . or become totally absorbed in myself . . . or become obsessed with the sexual aspects of the human body.  Obviously this is an instinct which must be reigned in, hemmed around on all sides, channeled in the right direction.

Thirdly there is my instinct to eat.  Like the other two instincts this one can lead to good; it has preserved my life for one thing.  But my problem is eating in moderation.  I have struggled with this my whole life, sometimes winning, often times desperately losing.

The interesting thing about the Moral Law, which I know I should obey, is that its goals are so far beyond what any of these instincts would lead me to do.  Channeled in the right way, held in check at times, these instincts can help me to achieve some of the Law.  But more often than not these instincts lead me to live in conflict with the Law.  And there are some things my instincts would never lead me to do . . . like loving God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength.

The situation is as the Lord says in Isaiah 55:8-9,

    "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
        neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. 
    "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
        so are my ways higher than your ways
        and my thoughts than your thoughts."

The only way I can think God's thoughts and fully follow God's ways is to have the One who is the way, the truth and the life thinking and acting and living in and through me.  And so my prayer is that of the hymn writer Kate Wilkinson:

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,

Live in me from day to day,

By His love and power controlling

All I do and say.

 

May the Word of God dwell richly

In my heart from hour to hour,

So that all may see I triumph

Only through His power.

 

May the peace of God my Father

Rule my life in everything,

That I may be calm to comfort

Sick and sorrowing.

 

May the love of Jesus fill me

As the waters fill the sea

Him exalting, self abasing--

This is victory.

 

May I run the race before me,

Strong and brave to face the foe,

Looking only unto Jesus

As I onward go.

 

May His beauty rest upon me

As I seek the lost to win;

And may they forget the channel,

Seeing only Him.

"These, then, are the two points I wanted to make.  First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it.  Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way.  They know the Law of Nature; they break it.  These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in." Mere Christianity

The Apostle Paul summed up Lewis's point almost 2000 years ago: "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Romans 7:15

New Testament scholars have debated ever since: Is Paul talking about his life before he met Christ?  After he met Christ?  Is Romans 7 even autobiographical at all?

However we answer these questions the basic truth is still the same, for Christians and non-Christians.  We all have this "curious idea", as Lewis calls it, that we should behave in a certain way, but we don't obey the law we know in our own hearts.  Even when we try hard to obey that law, we fail, at least some of the time, if not most of the time.

It's frustrating isn't it?  The seeming impossibility of reaching moral perfection makes us want to give up trying to attain it.  And we wonder: is there any way out of this overwhelming sense of defeat?  We confess with Paul: What wretched people we are!  And we ask: Who will rescue us from this dead-end life, this no-win situation?

Jesus is the way out.  He is the only one who can rescue us.  As Lewis points out later on in Mere Christianity: Jesus is the only perfectly repentant human being.  Jesus alone can work that repentance in us.  Our sin is, in fact, nailed to the cross, and Jesus' righteousness is available in return -- if we will simply receive it.

And receive it we must, every day.  For we do continue to fail--even as Christians.  But over the long haul with Christ--we can make forward progress . . . one step at a time.

In a letter to a friend written on 20 January 1942 C. S. Lewis wrote:

"I know all about the despair of overcoming chronic temptations.  It is not serious, provided self-offended petulance, annoyance at breaking records, impatience etc. don't get the upper hand.  No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time.  We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home.  But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes in the airing cupboard.  The only fatal thing is to lose one's temper and give it up.  It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us; it is the very sign of His presence."

Have you fallen lately?  Noticed the dirt all over you when getting up?  Never mind.  Just keep on keeping on . . . with Christ . . . in Christ.  By his grace you will reach home one day.