The Struggles of Community Life


By: John Simmons, Diocese of Tyler

“…a good settled habit of mutual annoyance; daily pinpricks (Lewis, 11).”

This quote from Uncle Screwtape, in C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters,” is directed at his nephew Wormwood who is working on the soul of his earthly “patient.”  The “daily pinpricks” from our closest acquaintances are sometimes the most annoying.  Continuously, eating away at our patience and leading to unresolved frustration.

When we leave these matters unresolved soon they evolve into contempt.  That contempt which is outwardly focused on the faults of others interiorly blinds us to our own shortcomings.  This is exactly the technique Uncle Screwtape lauds so proudly because an outward focus on the habits of others keeps us from focusing our own growth towards sanctification.

When we first enter a new situation the annoying habits of our counterparts may go unnoticed and may even seem tolerable.  Of course, we are acting simply out of politeness.  Little by little these annoying habits slowly wear on us to the point of anger.  It may be something as trivial as how this person chews their food or how this other person has an answer for every question.  They may even have an answer for every statement that is not in fact a question.  I tend to call these the “well actually…” people.

Often it is the case when people live in close quarters that they tend to notice the subtle unpleasantness of another’s actions.  While I believe this will inevitably find its way into all communal situations, it is extremely important that we narrow down the issue and find the real cause of our constant annoyances.

We can gain some valuable insight into how our tempters work tirelessly for our destruction by reading Uncle Screwtape’s letters.  Think about a pinprick.  It’s not something overly painful and it could even go unnoticed if we didn’t pay attention.  If, however, a pinprick became a daily occurrence then most of us could imagine the great annoyance this would cause us.  When trying to corrupt the relationship between the man and his mother, Screwtape encourages his nephew, Wormwood, to use those subtle tactics like constant little pinpricks.

The “daily pinpricks” cause us to focus our frustrations outward and by doing so we begin to neglect our own interior which surely needs perfecting.  Once we cave into evaluating the annoying habits of our counterparts then we often forget our own annoying habits.  It’s become evident in my own life that the habits I find most annoying in other people tend to be the same qualities that I struggle with daily.

It’s no wonder that Christ’s disciples struggled with these “daily pinpricks” as well.  After all, we are all human and have a fallen nature.  As the disciples in Luke’s gospel argued amongst themselves about which one of them was the greatest, Jesus took notice of the devil’s tactics and quickly squashed their argument.

I can just see how the seeds of division were quietly being sowed between them beforehand.  This is a sure sign of our affectionate Uncle Screwtape in action.

I also imagine that getting fraternally corrected by Jesus Christ in the flesh has a profound impact on a man.  Jesus says to his disciples, “…For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest (Luke 9:48, NABRE).”  The point is that humility is much greater than any worldly success and is a great tactic for defeating the “daily pinpricks.”

Jesus shows us how powerful the virtue of humility can be in defeating the enemy’s tactics.  Humility is the virtue that causes us to look to the interior and refocus on our own areas of needed growth.  There will always be those “daily pinpricks” by the people who are closest to us, but when we acknowledge our own weaknesses their power is diminished and we can focus more on loving than on growing bitter.


About the Author: John Simmons, Diocese of Tyler


John Simmons is a Pre-Theology 2 seminarian studying for the Diocese of Tyler.  He is from Nacogdoches, TX.


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