By Dr. Glenn Mollette
Do you worry about going to hell? Will you burn there in hell’s fire? Will you be in the hands of the Devil?
Hell may be a place where people are locked into a room with endless Presidential candidates hollering and speaking over each other to the point that nothing makes much sense and everybody ends up sounding crazier and crazier.
I accept what Jesus taught about heaven and hell. He actually talked more about hell than he did heaven. Hell is described as a very sad place of pain and suffering. I certainly do not want to leave my body and go somewhere worse. I have chosen to go to the better of the two places and I am trusting in Jesus to get me there.
As you know there is plenty of hell on earth. Why would we want to leave the hell of earth and go to more hell?
A dear friend told me recently about his sweet wife being in Intensive Care in Alabama. She has battled multiple sclerosis for 20 years. All the medication she takes has impacted her heart. She recently had a heart attack and is now intubated. “MS sucks,” my friend said.
Most of us have watched loved ones die from lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, dementia, diabetes, and various neurological diseases. It’s hell for the person and hell for the loved ones. Most likely if we live long enough, we will all go through some form of severe suffering. You might die suddenly and escape the long valley of suffering or you may not. Being intubated, struggling to breath, walk, talk, and eat is not a way any of us want to spend our days.
So where is hell? There’s plenty of it on planet earth. Almost 2 billion people live in poverty. Many of these people have to walk somewhere every day for just a bucket of water. Every day, millions are desperate for medical care but have access to none. Millions of Americans are homeless. Six million more immigrants have entered our country over the last three years. So, there is more homelessness, poverty, misery, and hell in the streets of America than ever before.
Life and planet earth are great if you are relatively healthy, have a place to sleep, food to eat, and a little money to spend. However, health can change fast and often does. The point is there are lots of suffering people and suffering caregivers. Do everything you can to be kind to people. Give them a smile. A good word. A good deed. Be helpful when you can. You will appreciate it when it’s your turn to suffer.
Many people are suffering in hell every day. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Glenn Mollette is the publisher of Newburgh Press, Liberty Torch, and various other publishing imprints; a national columnist – American Issues and Common Sense opinions, analysis, stories and features appear each week in over 500 newspapers, websites and blogs across the United States.