Think back to your high school years. Do you remember how every person belonged to a group? I my school, we had the athletic kids, the popular crowd, the nerds, the “prissy” girls, and the abnormals. Do you ever remember looking in from the outside of a group and thinking, “what I would not give to be in that group?” These groups are not groups at all, but rather rings.
Lewis talks about there being rings in which we desire to be in. The problem is that, once we are inside of one ring, many more become available to us. We strive and struggle to become part of the “in crowd” only to find that there is an “in crowd” in the “in crowd.” These rings are like an onion in which we peel back layer after layer, desiring to be accepted. This is the problem though, we fear being outside of the ring. We cram our weekends full of different activities, from movie goings with friends to dinners with family. We are often approached by people saying, “You should join this club,” or, “You would really fit in there.” It can become terribly tedious, but how much more terrible is it to never be invited to these groups. We strive to be on the inside, to have friends in certain groups, but become distraught when we are left out.
These rings are main part of our society. They are neither good nor bad; rather, it is our desire to be within a ring that is evil. “Of all passions the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things.” (p. 727) Ambition drives evil. Though it is not Biblical, think back to the stories of Lucifer’s fall. In all stories I have heard in my lifetime, there is one overarching theme. Lucifer’s ambition for power was his downfall. I would like to make an addendum to that story, it was not just Lucifer’s ambition for power, but rather his ambition to be within an inner ring which God fills. We are much like Lucifer, in which we can deny everything we have just to be inside a ring. The issue is that once we are on the inside, we find that it was not as great as we once thought. “If all you want is to be in the know, your pleasure will be short-lived.” (p. 727) We should not strive to be in a ring just to be in it, but rather because we truly enjoy the activities of the ring. Let us take a musician for example. If he wishes to become a part of a musical society, then there is the possibility for him to enjoy himself, but if he is just joining to “be in the know,” then he will receive little benefit from it. We should not let our desire to be on the inside govern our actions, otherwise we are prone to compromise and will receive little pleasure from it. We must remember that these rings have invisible lines baring people from entrance for a reason. If everyone were allowed in, then what is the point of the private group? Do not let this consume you, but rather accept it, and go about your life.
This essay hit home for me. A major problem I face is that I am a constant outsider looking in on little rings of people wanting to have the fun they are having, but always out of reach of it. Let me speak on a struggle I have had in the past few months. There are a group of guys who like to play video games. I enjoy them, not for the competition, but rather because I find them entertaining. I am not any type of expert at these games, but that is because I do not
play them that often without friends. When I try to go into the ring, I am immediately repelled because I “suck at playing games.” How am I to get better at these games if I am barred from playing them? It feels like applying for a very baseline job, one in which you seek to work at to gain experience, and they say you do not have enough experience for the job. How am I supposed to get experience for experience I ask you? This seems like a loop I am caught into, until I read this essay. I now realize that even if I became part of their little group, I would not have taken any pleasure from being a member. I now recognize that I did not want to be a member because I liked the games, but rather because I wanted to be in the in crowd and be one of the popular people in our little dorm society. I was ambitious, which we are warned against. Did not Adam and Eve eat of the tree because of ambition? If I am truly a Christian, I should not let ambition drive my actions, rather, I should seek out the rings that I belong in because I belong in them. I should seek out the groups based on friendship, and not some blind need for popularity. I should seek out the rings that God has open for me, and not the ones the world tells me I should be a part of.
Lewis talks about there being rings in which we desire to be in. The problem is that, once we are inside of one ring, many more become available to us. We strive and struggle to become part of the “in crowd” only to find that there is an “in crowd” in the “in crowd.” These rings are like an onion in which we peel back layer after layer, desiring to be accepted. This is the problem though, we fear being outside of the ring. We cram our weekends full of different activities, from movie goings with friends to dinners with family. We are often approached by people saying, “You should join this club,” or, “You would really fit in there.” It can become terribly tedious, but how much more terrible is it to never be invited to these groups. We strive to be on the inside, to have friends in certain groups, but become distraught when we are left out.
These rings are main part of our society. They are neither good nor bad; rather, it is our desire to be within a ring that is evil. “Of all passions the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things.” (p. 727) Ambition drives evil. Though it is not Biblical, think back to the stories of Lucifer’s fall. In all stories I have heard in my lifetime, there is one overarching theme. Lucifer’s ambition for power was his downfall. I would like to make an addendum to that story, it was not just Lucifer’s ambition for power, but rather his ambition to be within an inner ring which God fills. We are much like Lucifer, in which we can deny everything we have just to be inside a ring. The issue is that once we are on the inside, we find that it was not as great as we once thought. “If all you want is to be in the know, your pleasure will be short-lived.” (p. 727) We should not strive to be in a ring just to be in it, but rather because we truly enjoy the activities of the ring. Let us take a musician for example. If he wishes to become a part of a musical society, then there is the possibility for him to enjoy himself, but if he is just joining to “be in the know,” then he will receive little benefit from it. We should not let our desire to be on the inside govern our actions, otherwise we are prone to compromise and will receive little pleasure from it. We must remember that these rings have invisible lines baring people from entrance for a reason. If everyone were allowed in, then what is the point of the private group? Do not let this consume you, but rather accept it, and go about your life.
This essay hit home for me. A major problem I face is that I am a constant outsider looking in on little rings of people wanting to have the fun they are having, but always out of reach of it. Let me speak on a struggle I have had in the past few months. There are a group of guys who like to play video games. I enjoy them, not for the competition, but rather because I find them entertaining. I am not any type of expert at these games, but that is because I do not
play them that often without friends. When I try to go into the ring, I am immediately repelled because I “suck at playing games.” How am I to get better at these games if I am barred from playing them? It feels like applying for a very baseline job, one in which you seek to work at to gain experience, and they say you do not have enough experience for the job. How am I supposed to get experience for experience I ask you? This seems like a loop I am caught into, until I read this essay. I now realize that even if I became part of their little group, I would not have taken any pleasure from being a member. I now recognize that I did not want to be a member because I liked the games, but rather because I wanted to be in the in crowd and be one of the popular people in our little dorm society. I was ambitious, which we are warned against. Did not Adam and Eve eat of the tree because of ambition? If I am truly a Christian, I should not let ambition drive my actions, rather, I should seek out the rings that I belong in because I belong in them. I should seek out the groups based on friendship, and not some blind need for popularity. I should seek out the rings that God has open for me, and not the ones the world tells me I should be a part of.
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