Some of us live in a perpetual state of yielding to temptation. There are many among us who willingly commit sins, often the same ones over and over, and who believe that we have time to overcome these. We'll stop. We'll make amends. We'll confess, and do penance, and pray, and convert our lives. Just not yet. Not today. Not this moment. I need one more.
When we willfully and repeatedly engage in the same sin, over and over, in full knowledge that this is exactly what we are doing, then we have given over a portion of our lives to the devil. We may as well have sat down across a table from Satan and shook his hand over the deal.
There are many who call themselves Christians who on this very day are living a life of sin. They are carrying on an extra-marital affair, either cheating on their own spouse, or engaging in a relationship with someone who is married, or both. They are stealing from a business, social organization, charity, maybe even a church. They are selling drugs, or taking illicit drugs.
I don't think that I am over-stating things at all if I make the unverifiable claim that there are literally millions of alleged "Christians" across the globe committing these sins, and many others, on a regular basis. Maybe you have been in the past, maybe you are right at this moment, one of them.
If we do indeed truly believe that Jesus Christ is our personal savior, that he willingly gave up his life on a cross for the very sins that we are committing, then how long can we keep doing so without our conscience overwhelming us and giving us pause?
At some point or another, if we are lucky, every one of us is going to be forced to answer a simple question: how much is our soul worth, exactly? I say "if we are lucky" because, unfortunately, some won't ever get to answer the question. They will die in that state of perpetual sin, without having made those amends, without having received that gift of forgiveness.
Maybe they will die in a sudden auto accident. Maybe they will be overwhelmed with a sudden serious medical condition. Perhaps they will be suddenly murdered. Trip down a flight of stairs, hit by a bus while riding a bike, struck by lightening. Won't happen to you? Sure it will. These things happen to real human beings every single day. Something, some day, is going to take your life. Do you know exactly when, where, and how that will happen?
Satan let you have the man you desired. He gave you access to the money you wanted. He is happy to stand in witness to the drug deal in which you are taking part. He will gladly stand watch for you while you swipe the money from the company safe.
He'll be happy to help you, and be non-judgmental, even encouraging, in doing so. He'll tell you that you deserve it, that you have it coming to you, that you are worth it all. It's what Lucifer does. He whispers into our ears every beautiful lie that we ever wanted to hear.
And there are many who simply don't believe any of it, in the devil or even in God for that matter. They're the dark one's favorites. The old saying remains true, that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people that he didn't exist.
You are human, so it is very likely that you are sinning regularly in your life. What are you doing, or not doing? What is your sin? Coveting your neighbor's goods? Perhaps his wife, maybe even to the point of committing adultery? Bringing dishonor to your parents? Not keeping the Sabbath holy by attending church services? Do you place work, or school, or some club ahead of your relationship with God? Have you lied? Have you killed, including participating in the death of an unborn child?
In any of these circumstances, you have broken one of the Ten Commandments, the most basic laws for man as handed down by God. Beyond that, have you shown love for your neighbor, or turned your back when you had an opportunity to help someone in need? Have you loved God as best as you possibly could? These were the commandments that Jesus added to us: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself."
We all need to recognize that there is a price to pay for our sins. Jesus willingly gave up his life for us, he paid the price for our sins already. That is a truth. However, it doesn't mean that we can now just do whatever we please. Hey, I'm going to go out and drink, do drugs, curse, fight, swear, and fornicate. And thank you, Jesus! I won't have to pay with my soul!
No, that's not how it works. You have to believe in Him. Jesus also said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me." When you sin willfully, you are turning your back on Christ's gift. You are telling him that you don't care - you are going to do what you want any way. You are choosing to sin and choosing to be separate from him and his grace.
What price is worth you giving up your soul? What moment of physical gratification, what amount of money, what time in the public spotlight, what adulation from humans, what excess of revelry and debauchery is enough? You will indeed die one day. We all do. You might get 15 years, or 50 years, or 100 years, but your time will come. How much for your place in eternity?
Stop every once in awhile to think about that concept: eternity. We generally live to about 80 years of age, if we are lucky. What is 80 years compared to 800? What would 800 be compared to 8,000. What are those 8,000 years against 8 million? You think existing for 8 million years would be long? Well, that doesn't even measure as a speck of dust compared with all eternity.
You need to stop sinning now. Free yourself from whatever deal you made with the devil. He does not have ultimate power over you. There is no such thing as an unbreakable deal for your soul, as long as you are alive still. Renounce him, and embrace the truth of Jesus Christ and the price he paid already for you. Give up the person, or the action, or the things of your sin.
The honest answer is that there is no price whatsoever that is worth your eternal soul. You should be ashamed that you are sinning at all, if you just remember the ridicule, torture, agony, and ultimate horrifying death that Christ suffered for you. He did it because God loves you. Still, in your sin, God loves you.
Turn away, and turn back to God. The price of sin is not worth an eternity in the soulless agony of hell that is the miserable separation from your Creator. The joy, peace, and love found in God's embrace now and ultimately for an eternity in heaven will dwarf anything found in your sin.
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