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Copywork
About This Passage
Here Screwtape teaches a sneaky lie. He wants the man to wake up each morning feeling that he owns all twenty-four hours of the day, like coins already in his own pocket. Then, when someone needs a little of his time, he feels robbed and turns grumpy. But the truth is that no one can make or keep even a single minute — time is a gift we are given, fresh, every single day. Copying this sentence helps a reader catch the lie, and remember to hold each day with open, thankful hands instead of grabbing fists.
Let him have the feeling that he starts each day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell the story of Screwtape's twenty-first letter to Wormwood in your own words. Why does the man get grumpy when a little of his time is taken, what does he wrongly believe about his time, and what is the truth Screwtape admits about where time comes from?
Discussion Questions
- The man gets grumpy when a friendly visitor or a talkative wife takes some of his evening. He is not really being harmed — so why does losing time he 'reckoned on having' make him so angry, and what is he believing about that time that makes him feel robbed? Which detail in the letter to Wormwood helps you decide?
- Screwtape admits the man 'can neither make, nor retain, one moment of time' — 'it all comes to him by pure gift.' If no one can make or keep even one minute, is it really true that your time is 'your own,' and why or why not? Name the detail in the letter to Wormwood that shows where time comes from.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Easily annoyed; grumpy over small things.
Item 2
A hurt or a wrong done to you.
Item 3
Saying a thing belongs to you or is owed to you.
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Critical Thinking
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