The Lie of Self Help | C.S. Lewis

Now, here I've got a rather difficult thing to say.

On the one hand it isn't true that we shall lose our personal differences by letting Christ take us over. On the other hand I don't think Christ can take us over as long as we're bothering about what will happen to our personality.
Can I take the first point first?

If a person didn't know about salt, wouldn't he think that anything with such a strong taste would kill the taste of all the other things in any dish you put it into? We know that, as a matter of fact, it brings out their real taste. Well, it's rather like that with Christ.

When you’ve completely given up yourself to His personality, you will then, for the first time in your life, be developing into a real person.

He made the whole world! He invented—as an author invents characters in a book—all the different men that you and I were intended to be. Our “real selves” are, so to speak, waiting for us in Him. What I call “my self” now is hardly a person at all. It's mainly a meeting place for various natural forces, desires, and fears, etc.—some of which come from my ancestors, and some from my education, some perhaps from devils. The self you are really intended to be is something that lives not from nature but from God.

At the beginning of these talks, I said there were “personalities in God.” Well I go further now: there are no real personalities anywhere else. I mean no full, complete personality. It's only when you allow yourself to be drawn into His life that you turn into a true person.

But on the other hand, it's just no good at all going to Christ for the sake of developing a fuller personality. As long as that's what you're bothering about, you haven't begun, because the very first step toward getting a “real self” is to forget about the self. It will come only if you're looking for something else.

That holds, you know, even for earthly matters. Even in literature or art, no man who cares about originality will ever be original. It's the man who's only thinking about doing a good job, or telling the truth who becomes really original—and doesn't notice it. Even in social life, you'll never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking what sort of impression you make. That principle runs all through life, from the top to the bottom.

Give up yourself, and you'll find your real self. Lose your life, and you will save it. Submit to death, submit with every fiber of your being, and you'll find eternal life. Look for Christ and you will get Him, and with Him, everything else thrown in. Look for yourself, and you'll get only hatred, loneliness, despair, and ruin.

[CrossTimbersSon]

His timeless wisdom of “You won’t make a good impression, until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you make” is sure needed today in our world of social media.

[Peteroranje]

Doesn't need the music. Just let his voice and words stand on their own.

[stacypeterson]

This is perhaps the paradox of all paradoxes - that you must lose your life in order to find it. The problem with being a Christian from the time you were a very small child is that things that are amazing don't amaze. Jesus laid his life down for you? Well, of course he did. It doesn't hit you like a ton of bricks as it does as new information to an older person because it has become part of your larger knowledge, as if that's the way it should be because you never knew anything other than Christ's redemption, purchasing us from slavery to death. "You must lose your life in order to find it, " is like that for me because I've had it droned at me at least 3 dozen times by well-meaning pastors and read to me or by me another 4 dozen. Lewis's great gift was/is the ability to make the humdrum electrifying. It is a great gift, this ability of his to make something old and dusty sparkle again. I see him as a conduit to God's wisdom. A fountain of fresh insights. I thank God for him.

[chaosdream]

Isn't it amazing that we can hear C.S. Lewis' real voice?

[saidycedano]

“Look for Christ and you will get Him and everything else, look for your ‘self’ and you will get loneliness and despair.” Really struck me. many times I don’t realize that although I pray consistently go to church consistently and worship it’s all being done in pursuit of a ‘self’ rather than Him. I have gotten much better at it, but there is still room to grow. I pray I surrender the self altogether and finally rest. & that I forgot about the ‘self’ entirely, that I see it with the true minimal value it holds. Thank you so much for posting this video.

[OneMoreStoryWithMK]

“Our real selves are waiting for us in him.”

[trickyflyproductions]

"No man who cares about originality will ever be original. It's the man who's only thinking about doing a good job telling the truth who becomes really original and doesn't notice it." - That's a word

[alasdairmacleod]

Cool. But what is with this trend of adding background music to people speaking, I find it really distracting.

[dorei]

If you read the transcript without the music it really makes sense.

[avigoel]

This video started my journey from Hinduism to Orthodox Christianity. Glory to God for the Sea Harp channel and CS Lewis for introducing me to the living God.

[footmidget]

Those who "let go of their identity " in this world will find one in Christ

[rickrouse]

The comparison to salt helps me understand what it means to surrender to Christ. With Jesus you are made complete, and your true essence is realized, like how salt brings out the flavor in food. Then there is no reason to be afraid to surrender all to Jesus because he only adds and enhances your life, he doesn't take away. I need to believe this in my heart. Jesus help me not to be afraid and selfish and welcome you in my life completely.

[bonomather]

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. ~Jesus

[TracyW-mebr]

“Humility isn’t thinking less about yourself, its thinking about yourself less.” I wish I could remember where I heard that.

[micheleroberts]

Makes complete sense. We need Jesus, He is the oxygen to life.
C S Lewis had a wonderful way of describing the Truth.

[Sus]

Bro has taken apart the whole help industry in 6 minutes 💪

[IramCoercere]

Jesus Christ is like Salt that brings our real Character out. Brilliant.

We don’t have to be product of our upbringing when we give ourselves to God

[gingerg]

I'm 53 years old AND NO ONE HAS EVER EXPLAINED THIS LIKE

[Joey-fqrr]

You know how in touch with God Lewis was by how evergreen this short passage is.

Ideologies, philosophies, pop-psychology comes and goes, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.

[franciscowalker]

What an honorable Christian ...what a genius... Lewis is a GIFT to the world!!