Devotion / The bill is in the mail
Credit card woes
Whether it's China or America, those credit cards in your wallet can get you into trouble. Chinese banks issued 800 million of those cards by the end of 2021 — with outstanding balances of $1.29 trillion dollars!
Raise your hands if credit cards have gotten you into financial hot water. Credit cards let you feel like you got what you wanted and "it didn't cost anything." But those plastic "postponers" of bills are only a short-term savior. The bill will arrive, and if you don't pay it, your purchase is going to cost you even more with those nasty interest charges.
Spiritual credit cards
There's a parallel in our spiritual lives. Galatians 6:7-8 says A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
It can be easy to think we're getting away with our sins. The consequence (or "reaping") doesn't always show up immediately. It's like that credit card. You got what you wanted, and it's easy to think "I got away with it." But God knows what's happening. Unrepentant sin always has a price. And the longer those sins remain unrepented the higher the cost. Think of the regretful words David penned in his Psalm 32:3, When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me. (Also consider Psalm 6, 38, 51, 102,130, 143).
Just like David, if you "sow" a web of lies or engage in sexual sins, you might get away with it for while. But you don't see what it's doing to your relationship with God and those around you.
Credit only runs up the bill
Sadly, we don't always see where our sinful choices lead until it's too late. That's where God's Word is our guide. It clearly and forcefully tells us: they lead away from God and to eternal "destruction." So much "interest" to pay on the "bill" for our sins! "A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature . . . will reap destruction."
The cost of sin is a bill we can never pay. Only Jesus can make full payment. Romans 6:23 -- The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Only Jesus’ good credit saves
Think you are going to "cheat the consequences"? God's Word is never wrong. Just like those rising credit card charges, sin demands a high price. Save yourself heartache now and into eternity. Trust Jesus and "sow to please the Spirit" so that "eternal life" is yours.
What's sowed in sin reaps destruction. What sowed in the Spirit reaps "eternal life." And the credit all goes to Jesus!