Hell is a Four Letter Word

Funny, it’s been a long time since anyone has told me to go to Hell! The bad news is that there are more graphic four-letter words people can use to insult you these days. The good news is that Hell has been banned.

Actually, I’m pretty sure the place is still there- at least that’s what God promises. But more and more Americans are grossly offended by the idea. They insist that a sentence in Hell would be unjust. Most people aren't that wicked, or so we commonly assume. Hell would be okay for somebody like Hitler, but it’s surely not for mass consumption! Most people just aren’t that bad.

It may sound odd, but I was reading this history book last week and I came across a shocking fact: when Hitler came to power, most people didn’t think he was that bad, either. He was elected by the majority in a nation of nice, moral people. In fact, even when he began to eliminate the Jews, most of his fans and followers thought it would stimulate the economy! What’s wrong with that? Heck, the H-Man still has has tons of fans in the world today. No doubt, they are all nice people as well.

Or try this idea. If most people are basically good, how do you explain the epidemic of child molestation, date rape, mail fraud, identity theft, child pornography, racism, and genocide that dominate the headlines daily? Is a small group of skinheads in Montana responsible for all that evil? When corporations seduce and corrupt children with violent, suicidal, sex-charged music videos in order to rake in megabucks, are the people who run those corporations basically good? And if most earthlings are morally acceptable, which other planet is providing us with our surplus of corrupt politicians, greedy corporate CEO’s, angry terrorists, and self-centered celebrities?

I remember a stunned church member who came to me in shock a few years ago. He had inadvertently discovered that his godly Mom had been part of an adulterous affair when she was younger. He was stunned and couldn’t even imagine how his innocent Mom could have ever been a part of something so unsavory. When the Bible speaks of depravity, it means that none of us are quite as innocent as we'd like to pretend.

If most of us are offended by the "injustice" of Hell, perhaps it’s because we are too comfortable with real-world evil. We don’t know most people in the world, and can’t imagine what they’re really like. And we’re in denial about ourselves.

The good news is that nobody has to go to Hell. Thank God Jesus Christ came to save sinners, of whom I am chief.