Our Sin(s) of Choice Are Not Worth It

I once heard someone say when referring to a reason God hates sin in our lives that it is similar to how parents feel when their child drinks alcohol or acts in a foolish, idiotic manner.  They hate the alcohol, not the child.  They hate the idiocy in the child, not the child.

Lately, I have been realizing that sin in any form and any way it brings bondage is destructive; literally destructive.  Think about it.  Sin prevents us from wanting to be around others because of our shame; it brings embarrassment, self hatred, regret, guilt, and feeling unclean and disgusting.  It blinds us over time so that we end up justifying our sin for whatever reason.  It hinders us from moving forward in life because it becomes an addiction.  It ruins relationships.  It brings consequences to a greater or lesser degree.  It prevents us from growing spiritually because we cannot possibly serve God and cling to our sin(s) of choice at the same time.  And as Romans 6: 21 says, "Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed?  For the outcome of those things is death."  As I look back over certain sins I have committed in the past, this Bible Scripture rings so true!  For, really, what benefit was I then deriving from the things of which I am now ashamed?  Sin can be pleasurable and fun, yet the pleasures of sin are fleeting, leave us empty, and blind us to how bad or gross or wrong what we are engaging in really is.

Surely, sin is NOT worth it.