Looking at "The Screwtape Letters"

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” This was probably one of the most striking quotes I have come across so far by Lewis. This tells us of the simplicity of the schemes of the evil one to distract us from our path and how this so easily leads us straight into his clutches. Screwtape talks of how when someone begins to only retain “externally the habits of a Christian” he or she is essentially unable to recognize when they are going astray, and there is no conviction. As a result, there is only a “vague though uneasy, feeling that he hasn't been doing very well lately” which of course does nothing to convict one of sins and attain redemption. This of course causes the estrangement that is described. Where one no longer desires to have anything to do with God, and consequently hides from him. This causes a loathing of “religious duties”and a distraction of purpose. One eventually doesn’t even need diabolical prodding, because the lie has already caught hold and won over our hearts and minds.

The bible tells us that the devil only comes to kill steal and destroy. When we think of this we usually don’t realize that what he ultimately wants is not just our flesh to fall, but also our souls. And without “effective contact” with the Almighty, we are lost completely, because we are blind to the devil’s schemes. We must therefore redouble our efforts and clad ourselves in the armor of God, not allowing even the smallest chinks in our armor, because it is through these little sins that the true enemy finds a foothold.