If demons suffer, why sinners do not suffer?

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I recently heard from a priest that demons carry their suffering with themselves around. The more the demon hates God, the more the demon suffers. So in this case, Lucifer suffers the most.

Why this does not apply to humans? We do not see many proud sinners suffering, there are bad people who always seem to be cheerful and full of life/happy.
On the other hand, we see people who strive to be good/holy depressed and unhappy.
 
HSTV said:
I recently heard from a priest that demons carry their suffering with themselves around. The more the demon hates God, the more the demon suffers. So in this case, Lucifer suffers the most.
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There is probably a lot of truth in what that priest said. All rational creatures that God made are meant for beatitude. So, if a rational creature is doing/being other than what it was meant to do/be, suffering would be inevitable.
HSTV said:
Why this does not apply to humans? We do not see many proud sinners suffering, there are bad people who always seem to be cheerful and full of life/happy.
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I respectfully suggest to you that you garner a wider appreciation for the universal human experience. That is, we’re all just folk. And we’re all passengers on the same ship. There is so much commonality to our human experience, to include the highs and the lows. I think the recent barrage of celebrity-suicides is evidence enough that suffering is a universally-felt experience among humans. If you think you’re seeing a proud sinner not suffering, you’re either not paying close enough attention or you just don’t have access to their interior lives to know their suffering.

On this ride of life, suffering is not optional–it’s mandatory.
 
I remember reading one account where the saint said that the sinful souls on Earth who seem happy are those who God sees will not repent, and so he allows them some fleeting aspects of pleasure and happiness on Earth before their unending torment.

In my experience, the “happiness” of my God-less friends is pretty superficial. They have the stuff they want, and they do things they enjoy, but ultimately they view life as meaningless, and suffer for it. It might not be the pains of Hell, but it is still suffering.
 
ProdglArchitect said:
I remember reading one account where the saint said that the sinful souls on Earth who seem happy are those who God sees will not repent, and so he allows them some fleeting aspects of pleasure and happiness on Earth before their unending torment.
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seriously? do you remember what saint said it? where can I find this to read more about it?
 
The suffering of demons is eternal and they know it. They have no hope. neither can they separate themselves from evil (which is not “something” but rather “nothing”).

They are finished products - they made their once-for-all-eternity decision. “Non serviam” - they will not serve God. No looking back, and no future.

We are not finished projects. Think of death bed conversions. Many of those have gone through life oblivious to the fact that their supposed happiness was fleeting and was based on nothing. /it was a false plreasure since it was only temporal and had no eternal value.

Look at Christ! Did He, being God - the ultimate good - suffer? He suffered most of all. Are we parts of His Body via our baptism?

Yes.

Will we suffer - guaranteed?

Yes.

Look beyond the suffering to the promise which lies beyond it. Eternal life in total, unmitigated ecstasy in the presence of our Creator.

Demons have no future to look forward to. They exist in the permanent state of suffering for their rejection of God - and they cannot change.

We can change, which is both a grace from God and a sign to the entire world.
 
If God punished people for doing sinful things and rewards those doing good, He would in effect be treating us like dogs! He loves us to much to take away our free will and make us slaves!
 
I do not sorry. If I remember correctly I read it in “The Dogma of Hell,” which is published by tan books.

If you’re interested in the subject, it’s an great read.

The Dogma of Hell
 
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Neither outward suffering nor fun are a good gauge of where our spiritual life is.

Also, anything that’s worth while takes effort. Effort is not usually a whole lot of fun. Athletes and artsist aren’t usually grinning while their honing their craft. Studying isn’t fun for the student. Somebody learning a trade often has their “game face” on as their learning the finer nuances of their profession.
But still they find great meaning in their labor.
 
HSTV said:
We do not see many proud sinners suffering,
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We all suffer, make no mistake. Some great sinners are just better at appearing joyful to the rest of us, yet it is with difficulty that they enjoy this life and have no peace.
 
HSTV said:
We do not see many proud sinners suffering,
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can you give examples? I can’t help but think one of the main reasons they chose to sin is they are not full of the peace of the Lord. The most suffering I feel and when I don’t feel God near me
 
well, just look at my classmates at college who deny God and are always happy in their parties having lots of friends and getting the best jobs.
 
How do you know it is not an act. They look like they are having fun but secretly they aren’t. have you personally watched what they go through at work? Have they shown you their pay stub? Is it as fat as they say it is?
 
HSTV said:
Why this does not apply to humans?
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It does. But it’s a different kind of suffering depending on the sin and the sinner. Remember that one part of sin is knowledge or understanding: people can sin in ignorance and when it’s an excusable ignorance (not deliberate or a result of their own fault) then the full penalties of sin may not apply and God in His grace may even lessen or totally remove or prevent any suffering that would ordinarily follow from justice.
The worst suffering of sinners is that they are ignorant even of their suffering, which is why many sinners can appear to be happy. But depending on the sins and their gravity - and God’s grace and mercy according to His own plan and wisdom - sinners enjoy a false happiness, that is no true happiness. Even the ancient philosophers, although pagans, understood this about evil and unjust men: that their very happiness was almost a kind of curse or punishment, because it was a false kind of happiness and not true happiness at all or, at best, a cheap kind of happiness, again no substitute for true happiness.
Sins create and sprawl and make so many disorders in a person that with time it can become difficult to truly or honestly love, and love is one of the greatest human goods, if not the greatest. Selfishness can consume us and we can deprive ourselves of the joy and freedom of love. Sin also blinds us: one of the punishments for lying, for example, is to believe lies yourself. Again, because God is merciful and desires our redemption and salvation, He can and almost certainly always does lessen the punishment(s) that accompany sin and spares us the full “fruit,” so to speak, of our sins: but there is still justice.

Hope that helps.
 
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