The Inner Ring

Upon reading “The Inner Ring” by C. S. Lewis, I was caught off guard by something close to the very beginning of the essay. He said that he is going to “do something more old-fashioned than you perhaps expected. [He] is going to give advice.” This sent my mind for a twist. Many times people don’t say that they are going to give advice, but rather just give it. My attention became set on what advice he could give me as a college student. And so, with that, I sat back, highlighter in hand, and I became ready to listen to the words of a wise man. 

What is an inner ring? It is what we call a clique. It becomes hurtful when we believe that it will bring us fulfillment in some area of our life. Lewis states, “I believe that in all men’s’ lives at certain periods, and in many men’s lives at all periods between infancy and extreme old age, one of the most dominant elements is the desire to be inside the local Ring and the terror of being left outside.” I can’t help but feel that our society sugar coats what he says here with simply the word “acceptance.” But Lewis goes deeper and travels farther down the road where many of us are so unsure. He says that there are many inner rings inside of each other. How true this is. To say that I have not been caught up in one of these rings would be to flippantly lie to you which I will not do. 

One thing about these inner rings is that at the time, they seem almost to die for. Nothing seems to consume your mind more. Many instances come to mind for me of times when nothing seemed more important. When I was in 7th grade, I was suddenly caught in the idea that EVERYONE, at least all the girls, seemed to wear make-up. So what did I do next? You guessed it. I went home and told my mom that I needed to wear make-up. Though my mom gave me another one of those special talks about inward beauty, she didn’t hinder me from trying it out. Another instance was when all I could think about was getting my driver’s license. My friends seemed to be getting theirs and driving places all by themselves. And then there was that time when I felt that I had to practice tennis for at least 3 hours in a day so that I could gain into the “inner ring” of the really good kids who would always go to state each year. Make-up, a driver’s license, or practicing tennis are not bad things. Like C. S. Lewis says “I am not going to say that the existence of Inner Rings is an Evil. It is certainly unavoidable...But the desire which draws us into Inner Rings is another matter. A thing may be morally neutral and yet the desire for that thing may be dangerous.” It was my desire that I let consume me in some way that became an idol in my mind. Like Plantinga says in chapter 3, an idol is “the act of putting [something] alongside God and trying to serve them both.” Though “inner rings” are unavoidable, the strong consuming desire can be avoided.