Does God punish us for our sins?

It’s good to remember that God never wills evil–he is goodness itself. When hardships and suffering come to us in our lives, God only permits these things to happen, and even then only reluctantly. There are times where God deals out punishment for sins, but these are like acts of discipline which are meant to bring us to deeper repentance and conversion. That is why the Bible encourages us not to despise or become sad over God’s “chastisements” (see Job 5:17). And many places in the Bible affirm that God only disciplines us in order to heal us.

All that being said, usually when people speak about God punishing us for our sins, they are referring to our judgment upon death and the souls who go to hell. However, God does not “send” a soul to hell; it’s more fitting to say that a soul sends itself to hell.

What I mean by this is that hell is a choice to live separated from God. When we commit serious (mortal) sin, we are saying by our actions that we do not want to be with God. Of course, the Lord gives us the opportunity to repent by going to Confession–and he eagerly awaits our return. In the case of unrepentant souls, however, they are telling God by their actions that they want to stay separated from him–which is a terrible thing indeed.

Still, God honors our free will. He wants us to be with him, but he will never force us to be with him, because he wants us to make that choice out of love. For a soul who very obstinately and persistently refuses to be with God, even this decision God will honor. Hell is the consequence of that decision. Hell was never meant for human beings, but only for the devil and the fallen angels who rebelled against God. If, however, somebody hates God (or chooses to remain apart from him) to such an absolute degree, then God will honor that person’s decision.

The bottom line is that in this life, God never wants to punish us, but permits it at times in order to bring us closer to him. And in the next life, God never ever wants a soul to go to hell, but there are people who really do not want to be with God, and hell is the consequence of that decision.