C. S. Lewis for yesterday and today

C. S. Lewis wrote a famous book entitled Mere Christianity, which has become a classic in Christian apologetics circles. I was reading through it the other day when I came across a section devoted to four cardinal virtues. It struck me that there is a good reason why these are considered classic virtues by many varied societies down through the ages – they are still true today. In the next four blogs I would like to explore each of the four, showing how important they are to us today and how far we are from achieving them.

The first virtue is called prudence. Lewis defines this as practical common sense, being aware of the outcome of our actions. We can demonstrate this virtue in so many areas of life – how we use our money, communicate with others, do our jobs, develop friendships and romance, schedule our week, vote for the best candidates, etc.

How are we doing today in 21st-century America? Are we prudent people? We probably all know the answer to this question. Take a look at our celebrities – Brittney Spears, Michael Jackson, Alex Rodriguez, Madonna, Jack Nicholson. Not exactly known for common sense, eh? But we can't just blame them. We can see a lack of prudence in other areas, such as our high divorce rate, the amount of debt we accumulate, the chances we take with our health. It strikes me than one key example of our deficiency in prudence is the foreclosure mess. Many people failed to see the outcome of their actions when they bought a home for more than they could really afford. Practical common sense deserted them with the dream of homeownership dangling in front of them.

We need to develop a life of prudence as well as other classic virtues. We can read and be inspired by those who demonstrate such virtues (check out Bill Bennett's Book of Virtues), we can teach our children about this quality, we can watch less TV (a less prudent place I can't think of), we can talk over decisions with our friends, we can develop and nourish friendships with wise people. Most of all, we can spend time reading the Bible, where we encounter examples of both prudent and imprudent people.