Sin in Terms of Financial Cost

In the Old Testament, every time God’s people sinned, they had to sacrifice some grain ($10), a dove ($40), a goat ($200), or a cow ($2,000)—which all had real monetary value.

When I think about how often I sin, I realize that continually sacrificing all of those things must have cost a fortune! 

If I had to cough up a $2,000 cow every time I sinned, you can bet that I’d take my sin more seriously—that would be a huge deterrent. “Is this 5 seconds of pleasure worth 1000 of my hard-earned dollars?” I guarantee that every time I’d ask myself that question, the answer would be “no.” 

Thankfully, Jesus paid the cost for my mistakes “once for all,” which means I don’t have to sacrifice animals (and get to save thousands of dollars in the process). 

But if I had to be the one paying the bill for all my offenses, I think I would try much harder to avoid sin. The only reason I sin so much is because I’m not the one who has to pay the cost out of my own pocket.

But that’s kind of messed up isn’t it? The fact that someone else is paying my bill should make me even more hesitant to rack up a big bill. When I go out to eat and my friend says he’s paying, I try not to order anything too expensive as a way of showing my friend respect. Shouldn’t we treat Jesus’s payment the same way?

Let me get this straight: I'm not willing to spend $1,000 of my own money to pay for my sins, yet I’m willing to spend someone else’s life to pay for it? That’s pretty messed up. Would I really prefer to use someone else's life to fund my immoral escapades instead of using paper money?

Jesus, I’m sorry for taking advantage of your generosity. I want to value Your sacrifice more richly.