Anyone who believes that repentance is easy has never actually repented. The heart is made of a quick-drying cement that hardens in an instant but takes hours, days – sometimes years – to break. Recognizing this, no one is more foolish than the person who goes into a sin thinking that he can quickly find his way back out again.
There is an old Greek story about a wicked king, Minos of Crete, who built a labyrinth so intricate that no one could escape from it. To make matters worse, Minos put a man-eating Minotaur in the midst of the labyrinth that was always hungry – and searching – for food. This story provides a sobering picture of the reality of sin. Getting into a sinful pattern of behavior is as easy as making a credit card transaction. Getting out of a sinful pattern of behavior is as difficult as escaping from a cruel and bewildering maze.
In view of this, Christians should take care whenever they hear the voice of Satan whispering, ‘You can always repent afterwards.’ We must remember that Satan’s objective is not to maim, but to kill. He wants to lure us into a maze that will confuse, disorient, depress, and if possible, incapacitate us. Knowing this, we should no more play with temptation than we would play with a pit-viper. Repentance may be free, but it is not easy.