Wages of Sin

The preacher approached the pulpit after accepting the offering plates. He looked out at the congregation and began to speak. "As you can see by the altar, this is a Communion Sunday. Some may be surprised to know that I get complaints about Communion Sundays more than anything else. Some people complain that it causes the service to go late and the Baptists get to the restaurants first. (Scattered laughter ensued.) Some complain that it is so routine that it loses its meaning. You may have noticed that sometimes we have been varying the way we serve the sacraments to you. Some complain that we don't serve real wine and bread instead of grape juice and crackers.

"I have visited other churches to see how they handle Communion. You know that some churches only allow members of that church to receive Communion? Other churches allow non-members to partake but only if they have been dunked instead of sprinkled (more laughter). You are used to hearing me say that our church opens up Communion to 'all those you repent of their sins and so on.'

"My talk today is based on us taking Communion for granted. Just like any aspect of our life that repeats itself time after time, we tend to take things for granted, no matter how important it is in our lives. There are married couples in this congregation that take their spouses for granted. I can hear some of you thinking right now 'Yes, HE does take me for granted' and he is saying 'Yes, SHE does take me for granted.' And you are probably both correct.

"We are going to participate in an exercise today that, hopefully, will stop us from taking Communion for granted. Let's start by breaking down the requirements each of us is supposed to make before taking Communion. In my opinion, the first thing we need to do is to confess our sins. I don't mean your usual 'God, you know that thing I did last week I shouldn't have done?' You have to name your sin for what it is: Bearing false witness, taking the Lord's name in vain, coveting another man or woman (that covers everything from lusting in your heart, to looking at porn, to actual adultery), dishonoring your mother and/or father, and so on. If you don't name it, you don't 'own' it. According to self-help books, you should just not SAY something to own it, you need to WRITE it down. Just like we teach in Responsible Christian Finance classes, if you don't have a WRITTEN budget, you don't HAVE a budget.

"Unfortunately, I can't have you write down your sins on a piece of paper right now because the person you have sinned against may be sitting next to you. I don't want to see most of the congregation at the chiropractor tomorrow because they have strained their necks trying to see what the person next to them has written. In addition, we don't have enough note cards or, in some cases, a legal pad to write down ALL your sins.

"What I want you to do is choose one sin, name it, own it and, in your mind, imagine taking a pen, and write down that sin on a piece of paper that you have also generated in your mind. Do that right now. Why just one sin? Believe me, brothers and sisters, if you can just stop committing one sin ever again because you used this exercise on Communion Sunday, you will greatly improve your spiritual life. Okay, you should have had enough time to write it. Now say, out loud, 'I have sinned.' (The response from the congregation was weak.) Have that one sin in your mind and say it like you mean it: 'I HAVE SINNED.' (This time the response was louder.) Some of you are going, 'Whew, at least he didn't make us say our sin out loud.

"The second thing we need to do is Repent. We need to say 'I should not have said that or done that.' We need to be sorry for having committed the sin. Think about who you hurt by committing that sin be it God, your wife or husband, your parents, your friends, a group or class of people. Someone was hurt by your sin and you need to say you are sorry to God and to them. How many times in your life have you been forced or have forced someone else to say, 'I'm sorry.'? And how many times were they just words and not really the belief of the person saying it? That sin you just wrote down cannot be dealt with if you don't MEAN 'I'm sorry.' Now get that paper and pen in your mind again and write it down, 'I'm sorry.'" Everyone join me and say out loud, 'I'm sorry.'

"Confess, repent, what's next? And go and sin no more. Ouch. We're not perfect. We'll sin again. I can promise to not sin again but I know I can't do it. I'm human. Yes, we will all sin again. But we can never improve as a child of God unless we strive to be perfect in his eyes. I think our problem is we look too much at the global picture. Just take the one sin. Just work on not doing that sin again. This means we have to look back at the situation in which we sinned. What was happening, where was it happening, who was there? Then imagine the words or the actions you could have made in that situation that would not have made it a sin. Run that non-sinning scenario over and over in your mind. Practice it out loud if you can. Role play if you can. What you can ask help from God for is to help you catch yourself when that situation occurs again in time to prevent a repetition of the sin. It is harder than it may seem because of the strength of the emotional or physical pleasure of the sin and how long you have been performing that sin in the past. In other words, the more times you have committed the same sin, the more difficult it will be to stop it. Okay, let's do this: Think of the sin, say you're sorry and now everyone say, 'I will not sin again.' Louder, 'I WILL NOT SIN AGAIN.'

"This has been a heavy message today for some of us. But I have GOOD NEWS! Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will forgive you of your sin RIGHT NOW! Don't take this lightly. The son of God gave his body and blood over 2000 years ago so that TODAY you can be forgiven of your sins. Imagine him on the cross above my head. How can you bear to disappoint him? What is our reward for turning from sin and following him? A better life now and, try to comprehend this, eternal life. Friends, no matter what you've done in your life, you will be dead a lot longer than you will have been alive. Who wants to pass up the chance to be in Heaven for all eternity, especially given the alternative."

"Now, brothers and sisters come and partake of the sacraments and be forgiven."

Bryan deliberately kept his eyes diverted from his wife's. He knew the sin he had committed: adultery. That's all he had been thinking about for the last few days but it wasn't so much the guilt aspect as it was the incredible pleasure aspect. Bryan felt like the preacher was speaking directly to him. Now he had named the sin, repented and promised to sin no more. His eternal soul was in jeopardy if he did not keep his promise. After struggling through the rest of Sunday avoiding talking to Dawn, his wife, about anything substantial, Bryan went to work Monday morning. As usual, he used Monday mornings as a time to plan and prioritize what he needed to do for the rest of the week. This Monday morning, he used the time to think about his sin.

Bryan worked for an agency that helped elderly disabled people stay in their homes and out of nursing homes. That meant he worked mostly with women just like most other social service jobs. He was the coordinator of the program and seven women and one man worked under his supervision. His wife often teased him about working with so many women and how tempting it must be to fool around at work. This was especially true when he went on trainings and conferences that had several overnights away from home. Bryan joked back that "Hey. I've never turned down a woman that has propositioned me." Dawn was supposed to infer that he would never act as if he were soliciting a proposition from another woman but in truth he had never been propositioned and would probably be scared if he did. Bryan did not consider himself a handsome man and never flirted unless the woman had first. So far, the women who flirted with him flirted with every man, so he never took it seriously. Until last week that is.

Most conferences and trainings were held at hotels. Whenever it was possible, the agency would force you to share a room with a person from the agency who was the same sex. That usually meant he had a room to himself whereas the women staff had to share a room. After the meetings/sessions, the groups would go out to eat and then come back for drinks and dancing. His wife laughingly would ask one of the women going (several knew her personally because she taught some of their kids at school) to 'keep him out of trouble' on the trip. There was not much chance of getting together with someone from our office at these events.

"As one of the few men, I was expected to take turns asking the women to dance so all women got to dance about the same number of times. A red flag was raised if a man or a woman started trying to dominate the dance time, especially the slow dances, with one particular partner. In addition, slow dancing was watched for obvious crotch rubbing although after everyone had a few drinks it was not as forbidden. Worst of all was when one of a suspected couple would call it a night and go to his/her room and then five minutes later the other just happened to call it a night also.

Bryan kept most of his lusting in his heart thoughts aimed towards women from other regions. One woman in particular had gotten his attention the first time he had seen her years ago. Natalie had the same job as his but in another part of the state. Her face was not that pretty and she was tall and slim with no prominent breasts and rear end. However, she moved with a grace that said "class" to Bryan. For several years at conferences and trainings, she had not joined in the drinking and dancing activities with her office staff or those from other regions. The last couple of years, however, Natalie had at least joined her staff at a table. Seldom did he see her dance.

This year was different. Last week at the state conference, she seemed to have loosened up considerably. He was able to work her into the dance rotation and found that he and she had very similar dance styles. In dancing as well as other activities, some people just seem to fit better together than others. After several fast dances together in the rotation, a slow song came on. His and Natalie's eyes met and she smiled. It was close enough to her turn in the rotation that no one was particularly bothered by Bryan's asking Natalie to dance.

Once on the floor, they came close together. They fit perfectly. Before long his bulge and her mound enjoyed each other's company. They pulled their heads apart and looked at each other as if asking, "Is this all right with you?" They both smiled, and she put his head on his shoulder and the bulge/mound communication continued. Bryan steered Natalie around so that none of the conference crowd could see him as he nibbled on her left ear lobe. She moaned and pulled his body in tighter. He had guessed correctly on the location of an erogenous zone on her body.

They continued until near the end of the song. She pulled her head back and whispered, "If you want, wait 30 minutes until I have left, then come to room 314 and bring something to drink." After the dance she picked up her purse at the table and left.

Bryan tried not to make his staring at her leaving obvious and returned to the table where his co-workers were. He could see no signs that anyone thought he had done anything unusual. In thirty minutes after a few more dances and chit-chat with various people, he excused himself saying he wanted to get up early so he could jog. He went straight to his room, picked up the bourbon he had brought, went to the vending area on his floor to get a Sprite, and, after checking to see the third-floor hall was clear, knocked on room 314.

His fears of having misunderstood Natalie's signals was instantly allayed as she opened the door dressed in a cream-colored satin nightie that showed her small breasts and pointed nipples poking through. It took his breath away. She immediately came to him and kissed him deeply with an exploring tongue. Natalie said, "I was hoping you would understand and agree with what I was asking. Pour us each a drink and let's talk first."

After he poured the drinks (strong of course) and handed Natalie hers, they sat together on the side of her bed. She took the lead. "I have had a difficult marriage for several years. My husband is a diabetic but refuses to stop smoking or drinking. Our sex life is occasional fucking. We haven't made love for years. I haven't orgasmed except by my own hand for even more years. If it wasn't for our child, I would have probably left a few years ago. I can't love a man that doesn't care about himself. Recently I decided if he doesn't care about what he does to me and his family, I won't care about him either. I need a man to make love to me. Honestly, I didn't like you at first but over the years I came to appreciate your humor, your intellect, and what you've accomplished in your program. You are the man I want to make love to me. I hope this does not scare you away."

"It does scare me but I want to stay. I never dreamed a woman as beautiful and accomplished as you would find me attractive much less offer me sex. I do not, however, have a bad marriage or family situation. What I do have is an incredibly strong desire to be with the most fantastic woman I know. I would be deeply honored to be able to make love with you. It will be a dream come true."

Natalie sighed and said, "Then let's begin." With those words she stood up and moved to lift her gown up and off her. Bryan stopped her.

"Please let me." He knelt down and started his hands at her feet. Very slowly he brought his hands up her body, caressing as he went. The gown rose up with his hands as he paused at her ass. He paused to kneed her buttocks and then came around to rub her lower lips.

Natalie moaned again and asked, "Do you mind a bush? Harold never goes down on me so I hadn't thought to shave it."

Bryan responded, "No problem. I like a little hair actually and I do love going down. I just hope I can please you."

The unveiling continued with a pause at the breasts which he found out were small and conical with very large nipples that begged for licking, biting, sucking, and pulling. Natalie's moans turned into groans of pleasure.

Standing naked, Natalie started unbuttoning Bryan's shirt. She stopped after a few buttons and massaged his nipples with her tongue. Bryan hoped that his efforts were her nipples felt half as good. Next, she went to his pants and then his underwear. He was as hard as he had ever been. His length was not porn star length but was adequate and appreciated by Natalie. She licked first and then took all of him in one plunge. It was not long before Bryan said they needed to stop or he would shoot off prematurely.

Natalie was picked up by Bryan and placed gently on the edge of the bed with her bottom near the edge and her legs apart. She was about to see what Bryan could do with his mouth. She found out he could do a lot. As she had been primed for having sex with Bryan, it did not take but a few licks and twirls of the tongue around her clit for her to have her first orgasm. She cried out, "Oh, oh, OH. Yes, yes, YES!" Bryan was afraid Natalie was having a seizure she was jerking so wildly. "Wow. I have never had an orgasm like that before and we barely got started. I may not survive tonight."

Bryan knew he would not last long when he entered her vagina so he went back to every licking, flicking, and sucking movement he knew to use on a woman. When he sensed she was about to cum again, he entered her quickly and after a few thrusts joined her in orgasming.

They lay together for a while each complimenting the other's sexual prowess. Terms like 'best ever' were said by both. Snuggling for awhile felt so good it took some time before Natalie could feel Bryan might be able to go again. She took him in her hand and made slow slurps up and down his hardening penis. Once fully erect they made slow, deliberate love. It lasted a long time and although Bryan came first, he tried putting a wet finger in her rectum with quickly resulted in a climax by Natalie. "I've never had anything put in my ass before except a suppository. That was amazing."

Another round of snuggling led to a few hours of sleep. Natalie woke Bryan up and suggested a shower together. They lathered and rinsed each other off several times and managed to wake each other's sexual organs to the point where they were able to make love again.

The parting was difficult. They both wished they could stay in the room and continue the love making indefinitely. Practicality won out and both promised they could not wait until the next training or conference so they could be together again. They shared about ten last kisses before Bryan went back to his room.

Since that time, Bryan had played that night's scene back on his mind's screen over and over again. It took a while before guilt began to creep in. Whenever it did, the memory of intense pleasure usually overwhelmed the guilt. That is until the sermon Sunday. Two things kept after him: He had to call Natalie and tell her that as much as he enjoyed their time together, it had to be the one and only time. Secondly, he had to decide whether or not to tell his wife. After a few days of seeing how the secret was interfering with his interactions with his wife and kids, he knew he had to tell her.

Every coordinator had the cell phone number of the others so Bryan was able to call Natalie directly. When she answered, he asked if she could talk. She said she was driving but could pull off. In a few minutes, Natalie gave the okay. Bryan was almost in tears and choked out, "Natalie I can't tell you how much I enjoyed our time together. I will treasure it forever. But . . . That will have to be the one and only time for us. I love my wife and family and I need to pay more attention to strengthening that relationship. I hope you understand. It will be very difficult seeing you at the next conference."

Natalie was crying also. "Yes, it was wonderful but I was about to call you too. I am driving to a job interview in Tennessee. I'm pretty sure I have the job. It will get me and my son close to my extended family. After our time together, I realized it was time to fish or cut bait. I will be divorcing my husband and moving away. There will be no more conferences for us to attend together because I am changing jobs. I don't know what else to say except thank you for the memory. I think I have a new standard as to what to hope for in making love with a spouse. Good bye dear Bryan."

Bryan cried for several minutes before getting back to work. His mind now focused on how and when to tell Dawn. He decided that Wednesday night would be a good time since the kids would be at youth group at church.

Wednesday came and Bryan's heart was racing. His marriage and family were at stake. When we told Dawn, "We need to talk" she had said she had something to discuss also. He asked to go first or he might be too tied up in his brain that he could not even listen to what she would say. She agreed.

"Where to start? Dawn, I love you more than anyone else I have ever loved. You are the best wife, teacher, mother, church member, friend and anything else I can't think of right now. I have been so happy in our marriage and have looked forward to many years together in retirement when it's just you and me and hopefully a few grandchildren."

Dawn interjected, "I feel there is a big BUT coming."

"You're right. Dawn, I have done something that could endanger our marriage. It was selfish of me and all my fault. I have committed adultery." He waited for her reaction but saw little but tears in her eyes. He assumed she was shocked.