Nice People or New Men

Big idea

Summary

Lewis takes up a natural objection: if Christianity is true, shouldn't Christians simply be nicer people than non-Christians? He grants a reasonable core to the question, since Christ himself said a tree is known by its fruit, so a conversion that changes nothing about a person's actual behavior is rightly suspect. But he argues the objection usually smuggles in an unreasonable demand as well, that the world divide neatly into two camps, with every member of the Christian camp visibly nicer than every member of the other. Real people occupy every position along a spectrum of half-belief and drifting conviction, which makes that tidy comparison impossible.

To get at the real question, Lewis proposes a toothpaste advertisement as a test case: the fair comparison is not between a user's teeth and a non-user's teeth in general, but between what one particular person's teeth would be like with and without the product. Applied to the unkind Christian Miss Bates and the amiable unbeliever Dick Firkin, the real question is not who is nicer now but what Miss Bates would be like without Christianity and what Dick would be like if he were converted. A factory analogy extends the point: judging management fairly requires accounting for the condition of the plant being managed, not just its current output.

Lewis then presses toward the deeper issue beneath likability altogether. Dick's pleasant temperament and Miss Bates's difficult one are both, at root, natural gifts or burdens that God permits or creates, neither a moral achievement in itself. What God actually watches for, in both cases, is the free turning of the will toward him, pictured as a compass needle trembling toward true north, which he can help settle but cannot force. Producing a pleasant temperament costs God nothing; converting a rebellious will, Lewis says starkly, costs him crucifixion.

This produces a real paradox: naturally 'nice' people can be in greater spiritual danger than naturally difficult ones, because their self-sufficient comfort can mask any felt need for God, while people ground down by disadvantage or temperament often recognize their need for help far sooner. Lewis insists, though, that mere niceness, however socially valuable, is not what salvation aims at. Redemption does not polish the old kind of person; it produces, in his closing image, not a horse that jumps better but a horse transformed into a winged creature altogether.

Key points

• The world is right to test Christianity by whether it actually improves behavior, since Christ himself said a tree is known by its fruit.
• The world errs, however, when it expects a tidy division of humanity into obviously nicer Christians and obviously worse non-Christians, since real people occupy every position along a spectrum of belief.
• The valid comparison is counterfactual: what this particular Christian would be like without Christ, and what this particular non-Christian would be like if converted, not a comparison between two different people's starting temperaments.
• Natural niceness, whether temperament, health, or upbringing, is a gift from God, not a moral achievement, and does not by itself constitute salvation.
• What God ultimately watches for is the free turning of the will toward him, something that costs him what Lewis calls crucifixion, unlike the ease of creating pleasant temperaments.
• Naturally nice people can be in more spiritual danger than naturally difficult people, since self-sufficiency can mask the need for God, while suffering people often recognize their need sooner.

Illustrations & analogies

• A toothpaste advertisement is used to show that the fair test of a product, or of Christianity, compares the same person with and without it, not different people against each other.
• The contrast between unkind, Christian Miss Bates and pleasant, unbelieving Dick Firkin illustrates why surface niceness cannot settle whether Christianity actually works.
• A factory's management is judged fairly only by accounting for the condition of its plant, not simply its current output, which parallels judging a person's spiritual progress against their starting temperament.
• A compass needle trembling toward true north pictures the free will that God can help settle but never force toward himself.
• A horse trained to jump better is contrasted with a horse given wings, to distinguish mere moral improvement from the deeper transformation Christianity offers.

Notable lines

A tree is known by its fruit; or, as we say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

C. S. Lewis Book IV, Ch. 10 — Nice People or New Men

The niceness, in fact, is God's gift to Dick, not Dick's gift to God.

C. S. Lewis Book IV, Ch. 10 — Nice People or New Men

It costs God nothing, so far as we know, to create nice things: but to convert rebellious wills cost Him crucifixion.

C. S. Lewis Book IV, Ch. 10 — Nice People or New Men

Related Scripture

• Matthew 7:16
• Luke 6:20
• Mark 10:23
• Luke 15:4
• Matthew 19:30

For reflection and discussion

1. Lewis argues the fair test of Christianity is not whether Christians are nicer than non-Christians in general, but whether this Christian would be worse without Christ and whether this non-Christian would improve with him. How would you apply that test to your own life?
2. Why does Lewis think naturally 'nice' people might be in greater spiritual danger than naturally difficult ones? Do you find that persuasive?
3. What does it mean, in practice, for God to be more interested in the free turning of your will than in your natural temperament?