The Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-19

The scribes and Pharisees had murmured about Jesus associating with sinners, and in response he’d shared the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin to drive home the point that every person is so important to God as to be worth a huge sacrifice of time and energy. He continues with a very familiar parable. In it he teaches some very important points about dealing with people.

There are three principal characters in the story, the Prodigal son, his father, and his older brother. All three teach some important lessons. We start with the younger son.

“And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.” (Luke 15:11-12)

Both sons have been raised in the same home and have had essentially the same teaching. The younger one wants to get away from his father’s authority and step out on his own. This is a normal and even healthy thing. Sooner or later, no matter how hard they or their parents try to prevent it, it has to happen. God never intended children to remain under their parents authority for life.

Even his request for what is rightfully his is not completely out of line, although it indicates a selfish and impatient attitude. He isn’t concerned about the rest of the family at the moment, so he demands everything immediately. He probably assumed he could do better than his father at business, and he wanted to try.

“And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.” (Luke 15:13-16)

God gave each person free will. They are intended to be free to make their own choices and take the consequences. Because children lack the knowledge and wisdom to make good choices, their parents are entrusted with teaching them to make wise decisions. Learning to make decisions requires practice, by making decisions and experiencing the consequences. Parents can control the decisions and limit the risks for a while, but eventually the child will have to step completely out of his parents protection. When he does, he incurs full responsibility for his own actions, and cannot blame others. They have no further obligation to him.

The younger son made the same mistake others have, spending more than he earned because he seemed to have plenty. In his book, The Start-up Entrepreneur, Jeff cook stresses that a person must never accept free offers such as grants or special low interest loans from the government, because while they might make it easier at the moment, they result in not developing some aspects of the business properly, which may cause great hardship later. It’s too easy to spend the money foolishly.

Two young men I know bought a very successful plumbing and construction business. Because they had a good income from jobs the previous owner had contracted, and a very favorable loan arrangement, they saw no reason to worry about saving money. Both bought new cars, and began to enjoy expensive entertainment and gourmet dining. Within a year, their creditors were forced to foreclose on them. They simply hadn’t realized that the money wasn’t theirs until all the bills were paid. The younger son made the same mistake, entertaining all his “friends” until the money ran out. They had no time for him when he ran out of money, and he wound up taking whatever he could find to survive.

An economic downturn made normal avenues of work unavailable and he finally wound up on the streets, homeless, and offered to care for a farmer’s hogs in exchange for sleeping in the barn and eating some of the hog’s garbage. He was nearly to starve to death. His father had nothing to do with the things that happened to him, they were solely the result of his own decisions and natural events around him.

“And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.” (Luke 15:17-19)

Only when he came to the point of having no hope of doing anything for himself did he consider going back to his father. One of my cousins got into drugs and wound up in prison. Later he asked my aunt why she let him sponge off her and didn’t turn him far sooner. If she had, he might not have gone so far, and in any case, he wouldn’t have hurt her so bad.

You can never bribe someone into being a Christian, nor can you force them too. They have to take responsibility for themselves. As long as they are trying to hang onto their own lifestyle and pride they will never submit to God. They will never receive him as savior. Helping them get what they want just enables them to put off making a commitment. Our efforts to help enable people to continue in sin rather than turning them to Christ.

Over the years, I have watched a number programs to salvage drug addicts and alcoholics. Time after time, people have gone through these programs begging for food or housing, only to return to the old lifestyle as soon as it gets warm enough. The shelters just provide a temporary place of safety for most who come. As such, they merely enable most of the people to escape the consequences of their choices. “It’s not too bad, after all, you can always go to the mission for a handout, if you can‘t find anything else,” as one said.

Our efforts to help, when done in the flesh, may make the problem worse. Only with the Spirit’s leadership can we know how to respond in every situation. Acting in the flesh almost always results in failure and frustration.

The only thing the father could do was allow his son to suffer the consequences of his actions and stay out of the way until he decided to change. Many times, all we can do is warn people, then get out of the way and let God work. Offering help may quench the Holy Spirit, cooling his efforts to effect change. While we are to help the downtrodden, we are to help resolve the problem, not just enable it to continue.