A New Hell

I love listening to sermons is my truck while I'm driving. It's quiet, I can concentrate, and I can talk back and say whatever I feel, which is a bit awkward in church.

Today my comment to Pastor Chris Hodges (Church of the Highlands, he's phenomenal) was, "You are SO right!" We are all so focused on a new Heaven and a new earth, that we have missed the blatant sign that a new hell has already been created.

Part of the reason I love Chris Hodges is that he's a good Louisiana boy. Here's the story he told that opened my eyes.


Early in 2010, around mid January, a good ole boy from South Louisiana, Boudreaux, passed away. Boudreaux was dearly loved in the bayous and known as a great friend and neighbor. He was buried with a full jazz funeral. Unfortunately, Boudreaux partied a little to hard his last New Year's eve and didn't quite make it to Heaven. Thankfully, being a Southern boy, hell really wasn't too hard on him. Satan walked by a week or so after Boudreaux had arrived and observed him laughing, telling jokes, and high-fiiving the other dead folks. This irked Satan to no end and he said, "Boudreaux, why aren't you suffering like everyone else?" Boudreuax said, "Oh, Satan, man, this is nothing! I've been in Nawlins on a sultry July day." So, to rectify the situation, Satan turned up the thermometer of hell as high as it could go.

Another week or so passed, and Satan ran into Boudreaux again, still smiling and enjoying himself in the depths of hell. Santan asked, "Boudreaux, are you really still happy in this? This is as hot as it gets." Boudreaux replied, "Oh, Satan, man, this is nothing. I've been fishing in the bayous on an August day with the humidity and mosquitoes! I'm OK." Satan absolutely could not take this. So for a lack of anything else to try, he turned the heat off in hell and upped the AC so that it was colder than it could ever be on the earth.

On a Monday morning, February 8th to be exact, Satan found Boudreaux huddled in a corner, shivering and blue, but still smiling. Satan just lost it, he let lose on Boudreaux about the powers and purpose of hell. Finally, he asked, "Why, Boudreaux, WHY are you still happy?" And Boudreaux replied, "Satan, I'm just as miserable as I can be in this cold. But if hell is frozen over, that means my Saints have finally won a Super Bowl!"

And lo and behold, Boudreaux was right!
Prepare yourselves folks- it's the end of the world! But we're going out is a blaze of glory!
GEAUX SAINTS!