Oxford Counsel on Remembering Wrongs

On June 5, 1961, Oxford apologist C. S. Lewis wrote to a correspondent that “any fixing of the mind on old evils beyond what is absolutely necessary for repenting of our own sins and forgiving those of others is…usually bad for us.” The line captures a distinctly pastoral wisdom: evil must be faced truthfully, yet rehearsing it can become a subtle devotion to injury rather than to God.

Lewis in Later Years

Lewis wrote from Oxford, where his public work in Christian apologetics was matched by private endurance. By 1961 he was living at The Kilns in Headington, carrying the deep sorrow of bereavement after the death of his wife, Joy Davidman (1960). The counsel is not a slogan from sheltered comfort; it is a tested call to refuse self-pity and to reject the false “duty” of keeping wounds perpetually open.

Repentance Without a Shrine to Bitterness

Lewis’s distinction is careful: remembering sin has a purpose when it leads to repentance, confession, restitution, and mercy. But remembrance becomes spiritually corrosive when it turns into brooding—replaying old scenes to justify resentment or to maintain a moral advantage over others. Scripture warns of this danger: “See to it that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15). Bitterness rarely stays private; it leaks into speech, prayer, and relationships.

Quiet Heroism of Forgiving

Lewis pointed toward a kind of heroism that is easily overlooked: forgiving when feelings lag behind obedience, and entrusting justice to God rather than to personal retaliation. “Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath” (Romans 12:19). Forgiveness is not denial, nor calling evil good; it is releasing the claim to revenge and refusing to let the offender occupy the throne of the mind.

Legacy for Prayer, Love, and Service

Lewis’s 1961 counsel remains a practical rule for spiritual health: deal with wrongs as far as necessary for repentance and reconciliation, then turn the heart outward again—back to prayer, love of neighbor, and useful service. “Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). In that freedom, the soul learns to remember God more than injury, and to hope without being haunted.