Play The Whole Record

Chris is a good buddy of mine that lives back home in South Carolina.

I once told him about a mistake I had made.  He listened patiently and handled it gracefully.  Then he had this golden nugget of wisdom for me:

"Now if you're ever tempted to make that same mistake again, make sure you play the whole record first."

Then he explained what he meant.

Sometimes we are tempted to repeat sin because, to be honest, part of it was fun.  But we need to remember that we paid a price for that sin, and no short-term fun we experienced was worth it.  If we want to replay that sin in our mind, we also must replay the rest of the scenario in our mind, which includes the consequences, regrets, and scars that resulted from that sin.

It's kind of like what we used to do with records.  We'd buy an album for one or two good songs.  But the rest of the songs really weren't all that great.

Sin from our past may have had one or two good thrills.  But the rest of the experience really wasn't all that great.

Yep, Chris hit the nail on the head.  We need to think big-picture when we're tempted to return to the old ways we used to live.  We need to recount the cost and reflect on the hardships our sin ushered into our lives.

Maybe you're tempted to go back to sin from your past.

You better play the whole record first.  Remember how the fun turned into pain.  Remember how that sin hurt you and others the fist time.  So there does not need to be a second time.

Sin is just not worth it.

Never has been.

Never will be.

Period.