What is Wrong with Us?

Posted on August 5, 2025 by Father Joe

Why do so many travel the wide road to hell and so few take the narrow path to heaven? Has God deliberately made the path to paradise too difficult or cumbersome? Has he failed to plant signs to guide us on our way? Or has the devil turned the signs around to misdirect travelers? I suspect the sobering truth is that humanity is difficult to save. Jesus has redeemed us but many are resistant to grace and the gift of salvation. The measure is likely in how we treat the most vulnerable among us. If we can coldly destroy millions of unborn children, and celebrate with glee such choice or freedom, then it is no wonder that hearts lack contrition or remorse for sin, even though our disobedience was the catalyst for Christ’s horrific passion and crucifixion. The fact is that many do not care about what Jesus has done and this same callous attitude is imposed upon the neighbor. Some wrongly blame God and others. They may seek to mitigate personal blame by giving all the credit to the devil. It is hard to face the ugly truth about a fallen human nature. Even apart from the demonic, humanity is capable of the most atrocious wrongs. Betrayal, abuse, oppression, sadism, assault, murder, indifference, prejudice, rape, and an assortment of other iniquities define the darkness in human hearts. Given this sobering understanding of fallen man, the query is not whether there is a hell or not; rather, the real question is rhetorical, how can there not be a hell? Divine justice demands the existence and populating of hell.

I wonder what an angel or a rational extraterrestrial would think of us while visiting the earth for the first time? I suspect the visitor would wonder, what is wrong with us? He would be right to suppose we were somehow broken. We want what we do not need and need what we do not want. We say one thing and do another. We celebrate both Mother’s and Father’s Day and then go about aborting millions of children each year around the globe. We prize love as an ideal but hate each other in practice. We develop mass media for communication and education and then fill the bandwidth with pornography and cheap live-action voyeurism. As a species and the stewards of earthly creation, we have moments of intense awareness where we penetrate the veil to the mysterious transcendent. But no sooner do we spy the face of God we return to wallowing in the mud like the pigs on a farm. We were made for God but why do there seem to be so few children of the Light and so many that prefer the darkness? God spells out what we need to do and yet we resist; we parade our disobedience. Indeed, the more serious the commandment, the more stringent our resistance. Echoing the garden of Eden, we crave above all the forbidden fruit. We seemed to have lost something of the small child’s docility and trust. The old dog refuses to learn new tricks. Eyes are closed, ears are deafened, hearts are hardened, and minds are shut off. Such a mentality allows for no change of course, even if one is defiantly speeding to hell.

Ever watch a cop show when one is pulled over for speeding or failing to stop at a stop sign or red light? Some immediately take out their license and say they are sorry. This is the posture of admission and contrition. It may bring punishment but there is the promise of redemption. Another resists the officer and may even reach for a weapon. This is the sinner who wants everything his way. He will not even admit he has done anything wrong. It is likely that he will die in his sins. Finally, there is the perpetrator who speeds up instead of stopping. A high speed chase ensues. This is the sinner who tries to flee from God. He is reckless and endangers others in trying to run away. But ultimately, there is no escape. He has only made matters worse. There will be hell to pay.