Life is full of hard days. Pain comes in waves—sickness, loss, loneliness, or money troubles that never seem to end. Sometimes the hurt feels so heavy that a person thinks about ending it all. Suicide looks like a quick way out. But many faiths teach that it is a sin, one that opens the door to hell forever. I believe with all my heart that bearing a lifetime of pain here on earth is far easier than facing an endless punishment in hell. A short season of suffering beats eternal fire any day.
Think about time the way God made it. Our lives on earth are like a single page in a very long book in a very long series in a very huge library.. Even if you live eighty or ninety years and every one of them carries pain, that time still ends. One morning you wake up in heaven, or at least the pain stops when your body gives out. You may have cried every night, but the tears dry up. God sees your struggle. He knows you stayed faithful when it hurt. The Bible whispers that this world is not our home; we are just passing through. Pain here is temporary, like a storm that passes after a few hours.
Hell, though, is different. It has no clock. No sunrise to bring relief. No “this too shall pass.” If suicide breaks God’s rule against taking your own life, the punishment never stops. Imagine fire that burns but never consumes you. Or darkness that presses on your chest forever. No friends to talk to. No hope of tomorrow getting better. It is not a week, a year, or even a thousand years. It is infinity—time without end. No escape button. No second chance. That weight is too much for any soul to choose on purpose.
Picture two roads. One road has bumps and rocks, but it is only a few miles long. You walk it slowly, maybe limping, but you reach the other side and rest. The second road stretches forever. Every step brings fresh pain, and you never arrive anywhere. Which would you pick? Most of us would grit our teeth and walk the short, rough road. Life is that first road. Hell is the second.
Faith gives us strength to keep walking. When pain feels bigger than we can handle, we can pray. We can lean on family, pastors, or kind strangers God places in our path. Many people who once wanted to quit later say, “I am glad I stayed. Good things came after the hard part.” God does not promise easy days, but He promises He will never leave us. He carried the cross Himself—nails in His hands, thorns on His head—so He understands pain better than anyone.
Choosing life honors the gift God gave us. Our days, even the painful ones, have purpose. They build our character. They let us help others who hurt too. And when our time here ends naturally, we can stand before God with clean hands and say, “I trusted You through the storm.”
So if the dark thoughts come, remember this simple truth: a lifetime of pain, no matter how long or heavy, is still just a moment compared to forever. Hold on. Light a joint. Breathe. Reach out for help. God is near, and heaven waits for those who finish the race. The hurt will pass. Hell never does. Life, even with its scars, is the kinder choice.