Do you think it's worth worrying about whether you go to heaven or hell?

Question

I grew up in a religious family and I always hear things about being with God, salvation, day of judgement, praying, and how obsessing with religion is the only way to 'not stray from the right path'.

But over the years I re-thought everything and realize that God's divine will and whatever it is that the Higher Power has planned, isn't going to change for each and everyone of us despite prayers, rituals, whatever it is that everybody does.

The more I worry about it, the more it drives me insane. Feels like I should just live my life a day at a time, to the best that I can, and be a good person.

Answer 1

I like to say that I stopped basing my moral and philosophical decisions and actions on threats and bribery when I was about seven years old.

Heaven or hell...if you apply critical thinking to both of these concepts, even a moment's worth, you'll see that they're...well, rather absurd. What's the cutoff point. Do people who are 51% good go to heaven, and people who are 51% bad go to hell? How does that work?

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. For Pete's sake, don't worry about ridiculous fairy tales like this.

I look at it this way: I like to be a nice person. If there's a god out there that will care more about whether I picked the right religion to follow than whether I was a good person and will damn me for all eternity for what amounts to guessing god's favorite color wrong, then I wouldn't want to pander to his pathetic ego anyway. I'd rather burn in hell.

Answer 2

Satan is a very sly-fox, he will do whatever he can in order to plant negative thoughts in your mind and heart.

Prayer definitely works. If you don't have the faith, then you need to pray to God and ask Him to help you to find faith.

Being a child of God doesn't cause worry and stress, and He wont's us to live one day at a time.

If you are a child of God, you will have the desire to read and pray daily, attend a good Bible base Church, where you can feel the Spirit of God flowing freely.

Hell is forever, eternity in a Lake of Fire with Satan and all the vile people on earth and all of the people you really don't want to associate with here on earth.

What you are about to read is a answer for anxiety:

Said the Robin to the Sparrow, I should really like to know, why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so.

Said the Sparrow to the Robin, friends, I think that it must be, that they have no Heavenly Father such as cares for you and me.

Answer 3

I saw a friend of mine have a divine revelation when we were maybe 8 and 9. and before that she barely believed in God, we just went to church and stuff religiously. But from that day, from her description of heaven and that encounter she had (gold streets, half-female half-male angels, tears of joy streaming down her face.. yeah, crazy huh) Everyone in the room was in a state of just pure amazement, excitement, trembling. I am 100% sure heaven is real. she was the last person i would've thought to make up a story/acting. It was too real. I think hell is real too. God bless.


and yes, I think it's something we all should be very concerned about. Not worry, just make the right choice.

Answer 4

God has a will for each of us, but it is up to us to either accept or deny it. He has a plan for us of what will happen, yes, but there are times in our lives where it's up to us to make the choices. If we live holy lives, when we die on Earth, we will spend eternity happy and sound. Living a good life as a good person is part of living a holy life, but if you exclude the will of God from that, you're not fully doing your duty as a child of His. Atheists can be good people, but when they die, their souls aren't going to be sent straight to Heaven I'd say, since they've chosen to ignore God's will and call for them.

Hope this helps and keep the faith - it seems maybe you're experiencing dryness in prayer, but give it time and it will come back to you! ;-)

Answer 5

Why should you worry at all? Shouldn't you already know? Salvation isn't based on works. Ephesians 2:8 (NIV) says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."

To address another part of your question: God has a plan for all of us, but we also have free will, which means that we are free to not follow it.

Answer 6

There is nothing to worry about. God has given us a way to know for sure where we will end up. Here is the litmus test:

What do you believe about Jesus?

Is he your Lord, God and Savior?

If yes, Heaven.

If no... well not so much.

Really it is that easy. If you want to discuss it more just e-mail me. God wants everyone to be with him. Zero stress about eternity I promise. That is the beauty of the Christian life!

Answer 7

Don't worry about it! I was raised catholic (not that I am now though) and in one story it tells how when Jesus was on the cross he forgave a murderer and told him he'd go to heaven. I think if Jesus could forgive a murderer God would forgive you. I also believe we make our own heaven or hell but that's another story.

Answer 8

Live this life as good as you can. That is it's own reward, and if it helps get you to heaven, that's all the better. Living this life in a way just to get you into heaven, if you don't really want to live that way, seems a little too dishonest to me.

Answer 9

Why not do something about it other than worry? Be proactive or would you prefer to not and then be a complainer about how bad God has been to you? Like most that post here?

Answer 10

Both hell and heaven are unknown things. Apart from that we cannot forecast where we will go. There is absolutely no logic in worrying about "where we will go"