There was a comment on the Off the Left Eye channel that surprised me. A viewer asked if he would be able to see evil people being punished in the afterlife. I wondered, but did not ask, why in the world would he want to? Did he wish he could go back to ancient Rome and scream from the seats of the Colosseum? 

 

Instead I offered a video link about the balance of good and evil, and a distinction between punishment and consequences. God does not punish us, either now or in the afterlife. Yet our choices can result in pain, sort of like how slamming your fist against a wall hurts. The wall does not inflict suffering out of spite. God does not stoop to revenge, but tries like crazy to get us to use our strength for good. 

 

I pondered for the rest of the day about it.

 

There was a movie in which a character kept steering all conversations to be about herself. She interrupted two friends, to remind them of her current problems. She complained about her sprained ankle at a funeral where the room was full of mourners grieving a young father. It was frustrating to watch, and in that moment my lower self rumbled. Why isn't such egocentric behavior punished? 

 

Earlier that day I had been blessed by four or five tender conversations, in which friends had told me about the difficulties they were grappling with. I felt honored by their trust, and prayed to be able to support them in some way. One of them expressed that I had. 

 

Then the pieces fit together. When people are stuck being the center of attention, there is no need to punish them. The natural consequence is that they lock themselves out of life's sweetest gifts.