Wherever you go, you will find that what you are running from is there ahead of you. ~Anonymous
Years ago, I heard an elder in our church explain to a new member from a different Christian tradition why she didn’t believe there was a hell in the afterlife. “Oh, honey,” she said in her very prim Southern drawl, “I have already been to hell. I have been there and back. Hell is what we do to each other and ourselves. God doesn’t need to inflict hell; we take care of that ourselves.”
Scripture is filled with stories of atonement, judgment and confusion, readings we might prefer to skip or dismiss as archaic or limiting. Yet, I think we should give them another look, particularly within the context of community.
As we work toward honoring the dignity of every human being and building bridges between and beyond ourselves to the world, it might benefit us all to consider how all our actions impact those around us. How often have you or someone you know become disgruntled and changed churches, jobs, neighborhoods or relationships, only to be met by similar problems and challenges? How many lives have been damaged in small and great ways because instead of doing the work to heal, learn, grow or change right where they (we) were, within the community they (we) have been planted in, they (we) looked for the quick fix of greener grass? We know that hurt people hurt people. But are we self~ aware enough to admit that sometimes we are the hurt people who are hurting other people?
If that elder was right and hell is something we create, then perhaps hell is also something we can eradicate if, with God’s help, we stop running and start healing ourselves and our communities.
For Reflection
Have you experienced the “greener grass syndrome”? What was the outcome? What did you learn?
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