We have all seen the crowd surrounding a small table on a street corner, mesmerized by the peddler sliding cups back and forth, challenging the onlookers to find the coin or other small object. It is the proverbial shell game, so universal as to have spawned its own use beyond the street corner. For those of us seeking to follow Christ, stumbling as best we can to keep up within a mile of Our Master’s perfect example, that shell game can take a whole new meaning, and challenge.
Scrupulosity: The Basics
Some manifestations of scrupulosity can be associated with the psychological issues related to OCD[i], and others are rooted in spiritual deception or a form of narcissism in which the person is obsessed with doing the “right” thing as perceived to the point that they obsess more over doing the “wrong” thing or falling short.
The term “scrupulosity” is derived[ii] from the Latin word scrupulis, which means “a small sharp stone or pebble.” Individuals with scrupulosity certainly experience these annoying pebbles irritating and grating their minds and souls.
It has both[iii] psychological and spiritual roots, but our focus here will be on the latter aspect of scrupulosity since we are examining how the devil uses this condition against us.
The Manifestations of Scrupulosity
Persons with religious scrupulosity may become preoccupied with frequent confession, only to then feel that each confession was somehow inadequate or incomplete. They may obsess over past sins, even decades ago, wondering if they were ever confessed or confessed adequately. They may try different confessors, figuring that variety will better cover any missed insights or worry about “wearing out” a confessor who has heard them recite the same sins or repeat sins already confessed.
Such people may recite loads[iv] of prayers, even repeating ones they perceive as not having been done “right”. They may become so obsessed with saying the right words or phrases that their prayers become more about word formulas than any deeper contemplation. They will recite many prayers, attempting to cover any missing ground, blessings, or indulgences. Again, the emphasis will invariably shift from depth to coverage, and it is difficult to imagine how such an obsession will become anything other than superficial. The irony, however, is that said superficiality will be the net result of an unrealistic and counterproductive obsession with spiritual depth.
Ultimately, and predictably, this obsession with doing the right thing and avoiding imperfection in religious practice and piety will lead to a parallel obsession with sinfulness[v]. The lines between mortal sin and venial sin, and between any sin and no sin, will become so blurred that seemingly half of what the person does will be perceived as somehow sinful. Navigating daily spiritual life becomes nothing less than an eternal heart or brain surgery, where the slightest perceived misstep will appear to have catastrophic eternal results!
The Spiritual Damage of Scrupulosity
The above manifestations of scrupulosity present clear spiritual harm to those suffering from this condition. It represents a replacement of trust and faith in God’s mercy and love with shame, guilt, and fear[vi]. It implies a mistrust, doubt, and even denial of God’s goodness, justice, and omniscience. Scrupulosity presents a sordid spiritual paradox triangle. First, its obsession with sin is itself sinful. Second, it draws the sufferer away from God even as the person struggles to grow closer to Him. Third, it misdirects the person’s focus, energy, and efforts away from God’s love and mercy and toward self.
Well-known Exorcist and Catholic speaker Fr. Chad Ripperger cites[vii] scrupulosity as an obsession with oneself disguised as a virtuous desire for holiness. The scrupulous persons will simmer in the boiling water of perceived virtuosity, oblivious to the fact that their obsession is no longer God, but themselves. Eventually, their greatest relief and pleasure will no longer come from immersing themselves in the love of God but, rather, in removing the blot or stain from their hands as Lady Macbeth or Pontius Pilate so strenuously sought to do.
Scrupulosity truly presents a two-sided blade cutting at our struggle for holiness and God. It has been described as the “Dangerous God” and “Dangerous Me” Paradigms[viii] In the Dangerous God Paradigm, I see God as this big, scary, unpredictable tyrant requiring my fastidious spiritual response, which does not come from love but from a desperate desire to protect myself from His whim. In the other extreme, Dangerous Me, God is weak, uninterested, or absent, and I have so much power to both destroy myself or others as well as to somehow save myself only through my ritualistic obsessions and practices. Needless to say, both paradigms are about as spiritually destructive as one can get and surely come from the pits of hell.
The nature of our fears, anxieties, and worries [ix]reveal what we value ( Mt 6:19-24), our view of God ( Mt 6:25-34), and our trust level in God (Mt 8). In the case of scrupulosity, we value ourselves over loving God, we see God as either a tyrant or uncaring, and we have no faith whatsoever in His grace or mercy. Obviously, the fears, anxieties, and worries of scrupulosity are not only counterproductive to holiness but actually play right into the devil’s gleeful hands.
Scrupulosity as an Obstacle to Holiness and Sanctity
In my book 12 Steps to Sacred[x], scheduled for release in March of 2026, I identify and discuss 12 steps or traits that we must develop to grow in holiness toward the sanctity that God wants for each of us. As I neared the completion of my book, I realized that I had not discussed scrupulosity at all and that this spiritual malady was destructive to every single step toward holiness. I had to go back and include sections on scrupulosity in various parts of the book to include this very important and damaging topic.
Scrupulosity prevents us from aspiring to holiness much less sanctity; believing that we have the means to achieve those spiritual heights; remaining in the present silence of God; growing in detachment, humility, or simplicity; even considering sharing much less sacrifice for others given our obsession with our own perceived sinfulness; keeping rejection in proper perspective, or being patiently open to God’s surprises.
Scrupulosity as Religious and Spiritual Perfectionism
We know that Our Lord called us to be perfect as Our Father is perfect (Mt 5:48), but that call does not therefore mean that we are expected nor should we aspire to obtain that perfection today or even in our lifetime. Rather, it is a call to humility dedicated toward continual growth toward God and the holiness and sanctity that we are capable of only through God’s grace.
Perfectionism is a lie that the devil plays on us to bring hopelessness, despair, a distortion of our priorities, and a mistrust in God. It is self-obsession over God in that it pretends that our own actions, routines, practices, and efforts can obtain some delusional perfection apart from God. Saints are not made by perfectly recited rosaries, litanies, novenas, or devotions. Saints are made by the daily struggle to grow toward God through the love, devotion, dedication, and trust in God that both the above prayers and devotions and charity toward others demonstrate. True perfection is the ultimate, eternal result of our continuous, humble struggle toward a loving and merciful God Who awaits each of us with open arms.
Scrupulosity as The Devil’s Shell Game
The shell game described at the beginning of this article perfectly encapsulates the spiritual damage of scrupulosity. The term “peddler”[xi] was historically defined as a traveling salesman who sold small goods in the street or from place to place but now has come to include a huckster who sells falsity as truth.
Is that not precisely what the devil is? The devil is the father of lies ( Jn 8:44) who manipulated Adam and Eve into mistrusting God by questioning God’s word ( Gen 3:1), denying God’s warning ( Gen 3:4), and offering false promises ( Gen 3:5). He twists God’s words, lies about the consequences of sin, and presents sin as desirable. He is indeed the ultimate, eternal peddler, inviting each of us into his cunning shell game of misdirection and deception.
Like the street peddler, the devil will manipulate and misdirect our focus from God to self. He will divert our attention from trusting in God’s mercy and providence to obsessing over the minutiae of each prayer, action, omission, glance, or thought. He will distort a good thing, the call to ultimate perfection (Mt 5:48) and the call to pray always ( 1Thes 5:16-18) into a destructive and counterproductive obsession with self over God ( Rom 14:23, Ps 77:3-9). The devil’s two greatest lies [xii]are downplaying both sin and God’s grace. In the case of scrupulosity, however, the evil one demonstrates his versatility by over-hyping and distorting the sin part of the equation.
St Ignatius reminds us that the devil will attack us at our weakest points[xiii] which includes those of us with a propensity toward scrupulosity. He knows our spiritual buttons, and he will not hesitate to play with our inclinations to draw us away from God even as we struggle to crawl toward Our Lord. As St. Ignatius states, we must know ourselves and our weaknesses well enough to prepare for those attacks and fortify those weak points in our spiritual life.
Conclusion
The devil is not only the father of lies, but also the father of extremes. He knows how to manipulate our innate propensities and tendencies away from God and breed anxiety, fear, self-obsession, and spiritual harm in the process. Scrupulosity is a classic example of this cunning manipulation. By fooling us into reaching for greater holiness in dysfunctional and distorted ways, the devil can draw us away from the very goal of our warped efforts. It is truly the ultimate eternal shell game found at every corner of our spiritual lives, ready to be triggered if we fall into the evil one’s trap. May God help each of us to avoid that shell game played by the most cunning of all hucksters.
Take 12 Steps to Sacred, taught by the author of this post, Gabriel Garnica, this fall.
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[i] https://www.lincolndiocese.org/news/diocesan-news/18544-ocd-meets-religion-managing-scrupulosity-from-a-catholic-perspective
[ii] https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-struggle-with-scrupulosity
[iii] ibid
[iv] https://scrupulosity.com/praying-too-much/#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20a%20spiritual,when%20you%20make%20a%20mistake.
[v] https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-struggle-with-scrupulosity
[vi] https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/scrupulosity
[vii] https://www.youtube.com/live/YhlV3TiSXEo
[viii] https://scrupulosity.com/god-hates-me/
[ix] https://biblicalcounselingcenter.org/how-jesus-addressed-fear-worry-and-anxiety/#:~:text=Jesus%20makes%20the%20case%20that,my%20focus%20on%20His%20faithfulness.
[x] https://redpenguinbooks.com/twelve-steps-to-sacred-by-gabriel-garnica/
[xi] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peddler
[xii] https://fullyknownfullyloved.com/2022/09/15/satans-two-favorite-lies-and-christs-victory/
[xiii] https://grandcatholic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Church-bulletin-website-7-14-19.pdf
Image: Depositphotos
