The Screwtape Letters

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure to watch Max McLean at Calvin's January Series. He performed an excerpt from The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I watched McLean with no knowledge about McLean, as I usually try to do a little bit of research before watching a lecture, and I was really surprised that he continued to perform from the book. He a had a great theatrical voice and it made it very easy to listen to him. McLean is an actor and he performs The Screwtape Letters as a full-on show with costumes and actors. I once tried to read The Screwtape Letters but I could not get five pages in without being bored and confused. But because of his ability to engage me, as an audience member, I gave the book another try. The Screwtape Letters is about a senior demon, Screwtape, who writes a series of letters to his nephew, Wormwood. Wormwood is a junior tempter and Screwtape's letters serve as advice to ensure the damnation of a British man, “the Patient.”
The Screwtape Letters show how the devil works in a slow-placed manner. He uses ordinary things and everyday life to try and slowly tempt the new Christian to reverse his ways. Screwtape focuses on greed and selfishness, as does the Empire. The Empire tries to fool us into thinking we should only care about ourselves and that we are our main priority. In the book, Screwtape says, “Never having been a human (Oh that abominable advantage of the Enemy's) you don't realize how enslaved they are to the pressure of the ordinary.” The Empire can make us feel trapped by the average pace of life, that can never be broken. But the Kingdom says that this can be broken and we can live the life that we may feel is impossible. As I continued to read, I found it interesting that Screwtape said that they need to conceal themselves. This reminded me of a quote from the movie, The Usual Suspects. It says, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.” This makes it easier for him to find his way into unsuspecting people and it is easier to convert them to the ways of the Empire. Materialism, consumerism and selfishness are important in the Empire and not knowing there is a way out to the Kingdom of God. Screwtape and the other demons live in a world like the empire. But the Kingdom of God is the opposite, or the upside kingdom.
At the end of McLean's lecture, he was asked by an audience member what the best way to engage kids and teens to Christianity and to the Bible. He said the best way was for kids and teens to read the Gospel. This also is important because it makes it easier to defeat the devil and the Empire.
Why does Lewis write from the devil's perspective? What do you think happens to Wormwood at the end after his patient's soul his given to the Enemy?