Less than six months after he was hired to take over the University of Alabama football program, coach Mike Price was fired because his behavior failed to coincide with university policies. While Price admitted to “making mistakes and at times inappropriate behavior,” he did not agree with the firing, saying, “I don’t think the punishment fits the crime.” When we make poor choices in life we (and sometimes those around us) will have to pay the price for our actions. It may not always be as big as losing our job, but rest assured there is a price to pay. So how can we honor God with our behavior?

First, we remember that we belong to Jesus, not to ourselves. We are not our own. If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, remember that He paid the price for you by dying for your sins. We were bought by His blood, and, therefore, we should seek to honor Him with our lives. Second, we ought to ponder the price of our actions. We all have a tendency to look before we leap, so we do well to pause and ask ourselves, “How will this thing I am thinking about doing affect my life and the lives of others?”

Improper behavior will not cost a Christ-follower his or her salvation because Jesus already paid the price for that, but sin will always take us further than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay, and cost us more than we want to pay.