We naturally think that when we break God's rules, we can quickly look up, say "forgive me Lord" and all is forgiven. This leads to us doing whatever we want with the attitude that God will forgive us. What is that quote? "It is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission." What a horrible way to live. You wind up hurting God and hurting others with this mindset.
When we continually disobey God it pushes us further and further away from Him. Will He forgive us? Of course, but it is not free! Jesus paid for each sin of ours with each whip lash across His sinless back, with each nail in His loving hands, with each thorn prick on His glorious head.
"It is possible to take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and our sanctification with the simplicity of faith, and to forget at what enormous cost to God it was all made ours." - Oswald Chambers
Take a look at your child, at your loved ones, or even a friend. Think about watching what happened to Jesus, happening to them, being beaten for something that YOU did so that when you asked for forgiveness, God could grant it. Jesus is God's son, part of Him, one with Him. He must have been dying inside while watching Jesus take OUR punishment
Forgiveness is not free. It is bought at a very high price. The next time you are about to do anything against God's wishes maybe we should stop and think about our wonderful Savior paying that ultimate price for us, and instead of praying for forgiveness we could pray for the strenght to resist temptation and do what is right.