ANGER in HELL

Did you see the INTRODUCTION to this A to Z series? Check it out here.

I can just hear the response to this headline. "Of course there's ANGER in hell! Who wouldn't be angry if some cruel god threw them in there for no good reason?" But I'm not talking here about that anger, which will actually be more of a delusional self-justifying, fist-shaking-at-God hubris. We may get to that later in the month. I'm talking about the kind of anger you feel and express when the driver in front of you turns abruptly without signaling, or stops too quickly, or doesn't move fast enough, or turns into your path too suddenly.

Or the anger you feel when it starts pouring down rain just when you have to get out of the car. Or when your printer is out of ink. Or when you stub your toe or step on a lego. When you take a minor, innocent incident personally, and instantly claim that your right to go on unbothered has been unjustly violated!

If you're a person who can't accept the impact of nature or of nature's God or of others who, like yourself, are created in God's image but are fallen into imperfection, then you will reject God's offer of justification and forgiveness. You will never know the peace He has in store for you, and will not be able to allow others to enjoy such a treasure. In such a state, ANGER is truly guaranteed and unavoidable.

And it will be with you in hell, always.

If hell is a place without God, which it is, by definition, then there will be no sign of the good effect his spirit has on us here and now (when we allow it). No conscientious needling to lead us to back down from road rage into embarrassment; no meddlesome guilty remorse to keep us humble when our anger carries us down the wrong accusatory trail; and no eruptions of sorrow to reign us in when an outburst is more hurtful than intended. And that, because there will never be any limit to the intended hurt!

The point I want to make here has to do with the sad corollary of the old adage "Practice Makes Perfect." If persistent practicing of free-throws leads to a near 100% accomplishment on the court, what will an eternity of rehearsing totally uninhibited angry outbursts do to the soul? In as much as heaven is a place where the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5) are ever growing and multiplying in us, so hell is a place where the rotten fruit of our sinfulness is only putrifying and metastasizing forever and ever.

We can choose now whether we want to experience love, joy, peace, etc. and go on and on with these gifts developing more and more into such wonderful manifestations that can not be imagined now; or cling to our sins--rebuffing forgiveness!--and let them overpower and torment us increasingly and eternally.

HOSEA 7:2 Their sins engulf them.

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An A to Z Introduction to HELL

Let's pretend you believe in hell. I don't need to pretend because I do believe in hell. The Bible talks about it; Jesus talked about it quite a bit. Plus, it makes sense. It doesn't make me feel good, but there are many real and nasty things out there which make me feel bad. If it's real it's real. To proceed with this discussion then, just pretend that you believe it exists.

So what's it like?

Let's never mind about the devil. Hell will indeed be his place, not to manage or operate or use for his sadistic delight; nor even for him to "dwell" in as some kind of suitable habitation for one of his ilk, but it will be a place for him to suffer in, with the ever-painful realization that he rejected his creator God. We know he will be thrown there. That part is settled. But what about you? Will you choose to go there?

I know that sounds funny. "Who would CHOOSE to go to hell?" you say. But when we die, we don't stand at the door and choose smoking or non-smoking (that used to be a thing), paper or plastic, red state or blue state. Rather, all the while we are making decisions like these in life, we are also in the process of deciding on heaven or hell. It may or may not show on the surface of your life--in your association with or without religion; in your words and deeds; or even in your thoughts. But down deep in your heart, where only God can truly look, your chosen "bent" is clearly seen.

Think about this question: If you found reasonable answers to all of your intellectual and cultural objections to trusting in God, would you? Or would that internal bend still refuse to lean toward Him? If you are not immediately responding with a "YES!" then the answer is "NO!" and you know it.

The A to Z posts this month will try to envision a life in hell. An ongoing, eternal and ever building process of "life" in that place without God, but full of you. The Bible says that right now if we struggle at all, we struggle against "the world, the flesh, and the devil." I propose that in hell, all three of these enemies will be rendered moot. There will not only be the incredible absence of God, as Jesus felt on the cross when he cried out "My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?", but there will be no "world," no "flesh," and no "devil" to contend with. But worse. There will be the sinful you.

The series opens on Saturday April 1st with "ANGER in HELL."




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Murder and Mayhem

Murder and mayhem are part of this life.  Today's news from Boston says that much.  No matter who set the bombs out, and whatever the reason.  Whether it was a so-called rational terrorist, or a crazed lunatic, this was the work of fallen man.  There is no room to disparage the world's populations of beasts by calling today's criminal an "animal."  Animals don't do such things; only people do.

Since the fall of man, when disobedience first occurred and the knowledge of evil came into being, this race has been hell bent.  Adam and Eve felt the sting of the decision they made for us all, not only in the curses they earned, but most potently when their firstborn son plotted, and then killed, his brother.  You can read about it here, if you like.

Isn't the first thing detectives look for when investigating a murder, the motive?  But Cain had no insurance settlement to gain.  There was no woman they were fighting over.  Just like you and me, he only needed a corrupted heart to spawn this original homicide.  If anything, we might point to a mere "sibling rivalry" to explain Cain's evil deed.  In conversation with Cain, before the first murder, God warned Cain about the beast of Sin that was "crouching" at his door.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  From Genesis 4, linked above.

Murder and mayhem are all too familiar to us simply because it doesn't take much to lead us astray.  But we have a way out!  God's warning to Cain also showed the way.  Cain knew God directly, and talked with Him.  Through this relationship, Cain should have been able to "rule" his temptations. Because of the grace and mercy of God, established and offered the very same day Sin showed its ugly face in the family picture of man, Cain could have done better.  We, through a relationship with God established in Christ, are also enabled to overcome the tyranny of Sin!

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?  Romans 6:16

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