Devilish carrots

I've come to realize the reasons why sin is so attractive (at least from a personal perspective)--or at the very least, why it is so addictive in contrast with righteousness. I say so at great personal cost because I may betray my deepest inadequacies to the discerning reader. Thankfully, this is one of the last unvisited bastions of the internet.

Sinful behavior (and for the non-religious this would best be labeled "dumb" behavior, since to the believer that's really what sin boils down to anyway) creates a vacuum hollowed out by regret, shame, sorrow, misery, etc. The individual thus suffering from such will then desire some kind of reprieve, and due to the harrowing nature of the aforementioned conditions will typically not have the patience needed for more enduring relief.

Righteousness, on the other hand, is deeply fulfilling and while not always immediately (nor intensely) gratifying, doesn't create a vacuum but new substance/sustinence--new challenges and horizons, (even revelations?). To clarify, much of righteous behavior involves ritual immersion and patient, concentrated effort, and more often than not, little to no adrenaline. (This is not to say that there is no chemical emission involved in spiritual transcendence, only that the experience promotes peace as opposed to aggression.) Therefore, a person isn't compelled to continue doing righteous deeds as they are with sinful practice, since righteousness is the only course that offers true satisfaction as opposed to a piecemeal gratification, the proverbial devilish carrot on the primrose path.

I say all of this not because it is new to the religiously educated or spiritually discerning, but because it is new to me, a person of spiritually meager intelligence. Over and over again I'm reminded of how little I know.