Is being scrupulous ever a good thing?

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1 John 1:10
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

With the above biblical quote, it would seem that even the greatest of the saints sin, and thus being scrupulous can be a good thing…

For me personally, I believe that we sin whenever we intentionally, and needlessly, take our minds off of Godly things. For example, getting involved in a football game would be considered a sin. I already know that most priests would not consider this to be a sin, but my conscience suggests otherwise.

You shall put these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall tie them for a sign upon your arm, and they shall be as totafot between your eyes.
—Deuteronomy 11:18
 
The word “scrupulosity” has different meanings. If you mean a sensitive and upright conscience, and due diligence, it is always good. If you mean the disorder where you imagine or exaggerate your sins, this is always bad. So it’s not like sometimes “scrupulosity” is good and sometimes not.

There is a principle that virtue lies in the middle (between opposite vices). I suppose in this case the virtue would be diligence, and the vices scrupulosity and carelessness. That said, It’s not just a matter of degree. We’re talking about two qualitatively different dispositions.
 
Ad Orientem, I really like your explanation. I never saw it articulated like that, but I can see how that can be applied to many things.

No, scrupulosity is not a good thing, and it does not get us closer with God. From what I’ve seen, scrupulosity often causes people to stop living life. I knew someone who stopped socializing and talking to people because she became so frightened that if she was talking to someone who openly sins, then she’s sinning herself. She couldn’t hold a job because if she saw someone doing something wrong at her workplace, she felt she was sinning by working there. As Ad Orientem wrote, don’t confuse diligence with scrupulosity.
 
Am I being scrupulous in a positive (diligent manner) or negative sense in believing that I sin whenever I take my mind off Godly things?
 
Robert, like you said, most Priests would tell you that you are incorrect on that point. Playing a game of football is not a sin.

If you feel that you are called to this kind of service, to deny all worldly thoughts, why not find a fitting vocation? Perhaps become a monk? I suspect without some kind of direction on this matter, you will suffer greatly (and needlessly).
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
Robert, like you said, most Priests would tell you that you are incorrect on that point. Playing a game of football is not a sin.

If you feel that you are called to this kind of service, to deny all worldly thoughts, why not find a fitting vocation? Perhaps become a monk? I suspect without some kind of direction on this matter, you will suffer greatly (and needlessly).
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If I had my life to live over again, I would definitely become a monk, but I’m 58 and I have severe mental disorders, which rules it out. I live alone, always at home, no TV, and I consider my office my own cell in my own monastery. It’s very hard to keep my mind constantly on Godly matters, but that’s my goal.

Thanks for your kind response!
 
The question you seem to be asking yourself is: are all thoughts and actions sinful if they are not directly related to God?

I’m sure that you would agree on this: the answer to that question is very important. The answer is also very important to God and very important to his Church. If they are all sinful, then many are being led to Hell that way. If they are not sinful, then you are causing yourself extreme anxiety for no good reason. So it must be important.

Given that it is such an important matter, then 1 of 2 things must be true. Either:
  1. Your conscience is malformed, and you need to mold it to better fit the Church’s teachings. That is, it is well and good for you to devote all your thoughts and acts to God if that is what you feel called to do. But it is not a sin for you (or for anyone else) if you do not do so.
OR,
  1. The Church is wrong on this matter. In which case, we have a serious problem. For surely God would not allow his Church to err on a matter of such gravity. In this case, if the Church were truly wrong, then you would have to reject the Church.
I hope that I was not too long-winded and that you ultimately understood my meaning here. To summarize again: given this dilemma, there are only two rational courses of action. You must either mold your conscience to the Church’s teachings, or you must reject the Church. For the Church is either correct, and thus it is God’s true Church, or it is not, and thus it is not God’s true Church.
 
Yeah having and upright conciseness and being diligent against sin is a good thing, scrupulosity is not. Scruples causes a person to become so obsessed with their own sin (whether real or imaginary) and impending doom, that they forget about God’s mercy. They get so wrapped up in God’s judgement and their supposed future damnation that they totally forget how loving and compassionate God is, and how he always extends his mercy to them. I say this as a person who does struggle with scruples. Although I don’t have the problems with imagining I have sinned when I haven’t; I do struggle with forgiveness. A lot of times if I ask God to forgive me for something, if I don’t ‘feel’ like I’ve been forgiven, then I fear that God must not have because I wasn’t really repentant, so I ‘say sorry’ again, which makes me scared that if God did originally forgive me that he somehow unforgived me because my re-repentance showed a lack of faith. I know crazy, but that is the basic thought process that goes through the minds of people with scrupulosity and other OCD related stuff (I am also a major worry-wart). When someone says that worshiping something is just devoting all your time energy and being to it, obsessing with it as it were, it makes us petrified that we have committed idolatry every time we become excited about our birthday, or the school play, or a baseball game. My point is that this constant looking over your shoulder, living handicapped (or at least partly) in anxiety and fear is definitely not from God. It is Satan that wants us to be anxious and terror stricken, not God. God wants us to be at peace, and have no fear. Satan wants us do fear, he is the causer of scrupulosity.
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
The question you seem to be asking yourself is: are all thoughts and actions sinful if they are not directly related to God?

I’m sure that you would agree on this: the answer to that question is very important. The answer is also very important to God and very important to his Church. If they are all sinful, then many are being led to Hell that way. If they are not sinful, then you are causing yourself extreme anxiety for no good reason. So it must be important.

Given that it is such an important matter, then 1 of 2 things must be true. Either:
  1. Your conscience is malformed, and you need to mold it to better fit the Church’s teachings. That is, it is well and good for you to devote all your thoughts and acts to God if that is what you feel called to do. But it is not a sin for you (or for anyone else) if you do not do so.
OR,
  1. The Church is wrong on this matter. In which case, we have a serious problem. For surely God would not allow his Church to err on a matter of such gravity. In this case, if the Church were truly wrong, then you would have to reject the Church.
I hope that I was not too long-winded and that you ultimately understood my meaning here. To summarize again: given this dilemma, there are only two rational courses of action. You must either mold your conscience to the Church’s teachings, or you must reject the Church. For the Church is either correct, and thus it is God’s true Church, or it is not, and thus it is not God’s true Church.
Click to expand...
fallow_spirit said:
Yeah having and upright conciseness and being diligent against sin is a good thing, scrupulosity is not. Scruples causes a person to become so obsessed with their own sin (whether real or imaginary) and impending doom, that they forget about God’s mercy. They get so wrapped up in God’s judgement and their supposed future damnation that they totally forget how loving and compassionate God is, and how he always extends his mercy to them. I say this as a person who does struggle with scruples. Although I don’t have the problems with imagining I have sinned when I haven’t; I do struggle with forgiveness. A lot of times if I ask God to forgive me for something, if I don’t ‘feel’ like I’ve been forgiven, then I fear that God must not have because I wasn’t really repentant, so I ‘say sorry’ again, which makes me scared that if God did originally forgive me that he somehow unforgived me because my re-repentance showed a lack of faith. I know crazy, but that is the basic thought process that goes through the minds of people with scrupulosity and other OCD related stuff (I am also a major worry-wart). When someone says that worshiping something is just devoting all your time energy and being to it, obsessing with it as it were, it makes us petrified that we have committed idolatry every time we become excited about our birthday, or the school play, or a baseball game. My point is that this constant looking over your shoulder, living handicapped (or at least partly) in anxiety and fear is definitely not from God. It is Satan that wants us to be anxious and terror stricken, not God. God wants us to be at peace, and have no fear. Satan wants us do fear, he is the causer of scrupulosity.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your thoughtful responses! I truly feel forgiven, but I feel that God is a jealous God, and that He wants my full attention. I feel called to a devout life, and I often feel that the Catholic Church sets the bar way too low on what a devout life is all about.
 
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