Reading Francis

At what point do our scruples do more harm than good?

Scrupulosity is not a term you hear a lot these days, even though I think it’s a burgeoning condition now in both secular and sacred circles. (We tend to go with the more pathological term, OCD.) Back in the day, Jesus poked at the scrupulosity of the Pharisees, who had constructed such an intricate set of purity rules that almost nobody could remember them all, much less live up to them. Much later, St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits) is remembered as one of many Christians who have struggled with the constant obsession over the desire to do everything right and the fear of falling short. 

I think about this in secular life, as I have seen calls from friends across the political/cultural spectrum to boycott different companies because of decisions they’ve made. I came of age when college students pushed for strategies of boycott and divestment from companies that propped up South Africa’s apartheid regime, so I know that this is nothing new. And, to be clear, I think there’s a good moral argument for intentionally avoiding spending money with businesses that do morally objectionable things or take positions contrary to your ethics.

I wonder though, if there is a long term spiritual cost for those of us who go all in on this approach to our economics. Scrupulosity, even if it’s not truly pathological, can be exhausting. It also roots our lives in behaviors that can foster an unmerciful approach to those around us. I have written before about the instinct to “cross off the list” those who run afoul of us, and how that instinct seems contrary to the way God works. If we find ourselves continually updating the list of those whom we want no part of, it seems like at some point we will find that we’ve trained ourselves to harden our hearts to those who are morally complex and fallible. Which is to say, all of us.

I’m mindful that the other extreme is a moral laziness that is neither virtuous nor helpful. The sweet spot must live somewhere between those poles of scrupulosity and laziness, though it’s an elusive target. 

I raise this partly as an honest question for you all: How do you manage the desire to ensure that your spending reflects your values without becoming someone who lives in a constant attitude of “gotcha”? When does the discipline of constricting those from whom you’ll buy start to constrict your heart’s ability to forgive?