Around my junior/senior year of college, I had gotten a credit card at the GAP after getting a major discount on my total once I signed up. It was a great way for me to build credit, and at the time I shopped at GAP faithfully. It worked out. One day I gave them a call for some reason, and one of the reps let me know that this card was able to be used anywhere, when I thought that it could only be used at the store. Let me tell you...once I found out the truth about this card, it was a wrap. You would soon find me enjoying steak dinners and champagne while studying for finals. Okay maybe no steak dinners- but you get the point. I was truly eating good! Before I knew it, I had run my credit card up to the full $3,500 limit. What was I to do?! Thankfully, I got a job fresh out of school so I began making payments on it immediately. But what an inconvenience this had all become. The burden of debt looming over my head made it hard for me to have peace about my finances, because I knew that a part of my current income always had to go towards something in my past........................and see this is exactly how sin is. Sin is just like a credit card.
During this spiritual dormancy, I had been making countless transactions to falsely purchase pleasure that only accounted for fleeting moments. I did more damage than I could even fathom by ignoring the tugging of the Holy Spirit saying, "You should stop this." Instead I would try to block His voice out even more by digging myself into a deeper hole of sin. The more he tugged, the more I pulled away, and the more regret and heartache I ended up owing way down the road.
When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, He was taken to the top of a mountain and was offered basically everything- this is if Jesus had fallen to Satan's feet to worship him, of course. The simple act of Jesus bowing down could have given Him a few buildings here and there but would have ruined the very reason that He had come to Earth. Do you understand the magnitude of everything that would have been lost had Jesus simply gotten down on his knees to worship Satan?!!! Three seconds could have compromised a whole entire lifetime. And this is what we have to think about.
How much is sin costing you?
Would you rather eat fast food every single day or rather a home cooked meal? Keep buying shirts from Forever 21 that are ruined after the third wash, or invest in quality threads that will actually last? Ruin a relationship by moving way too fast, or actually take the time to build something beautiful?
The fast foods and cheap shirts seem to be right at first, but soon you find out that these things are extremely temporary and find a way to catch up with you later on...in the most negative way possible. Count the costs friends- and ask yourself what's worth it. Here's what I know: