The Prodigal Son

Word puzzle show Say You was on the radio while I was driving a long stretch of road. If you like words (definitions, origins, etc) and a dose of wit, definitely check it out. I should tune in more often. But when am I in the car for an hour at 4pm on a Sunday? Not enough.

One of the questions was the meaning and origin of "the prodigal son".

The first woman who answered was familiar with the parable from Luke and correct about the origin.
Her definition response was the same as I would have given. The prodigal son was the wasteful one that returned home after he had squandered all his resources. The popular parable is most known as "the prodigal son" or "the lost son". In my experience, when the parable is preached/studied the emphasis is on the selfish son that asked for his inheritance early, left home, wasted all his new wealth until he found himself living more poorly than pigs, returns home humbled with a repentant heart and is surprisingly joyfully welcomed home by his father that runs to him with open arms and plans a celebration in honor of the son's return. The emphasis of the passage is either on the repentant son that no longer becomes lost or the compassionate response of the father.

We were both wrong.

Another woman answered that the prodigal son was in reference to the older son that was doing everything as he should and became jealous of his well-received, wasteful brother when he returned. According to the show's host, she was correct.

What?

It was one of those moments when you find you spent your life thinking one thing and then it gets turned on its head.

Wait, so the emphasis of the passage is really for those that think they are faithful and following rules, filled with pride and a feeling of being deserving, to the point that they may lack the same compassion the father exhibited towards someone that didn't live such a pristine life? Could this be?

Webster defines "prodigal" as "extravagantly wasteful" which seems to best describe the younger son. Whether or not the show was correct, it got me thinking about what I had previously downplayed in the passage. People love hearing that despite their mistakes and screw-ups in life, there is a God that forgives and welcomes those who have lost their way. We love hearing it in relation to ourselves. But it is an all-inclusive invitation for forgiveness to everyone no matter how bad the mistakes. The worldly thing to do is to compare and judge and maybe even be happy to hear about those that turn their lives around but only to a point. If for some reason you believe that person somehow has it better than you (however you define it- success, attention, popularity, luck, etc.) there is that jealousy and thinking that they are not as deserving as you.

You know what I mean? People love to compare.
(Especially when watching reality shows- I wouldn't spend my money that way, sigh extravagant rich people, how did that contestant get through to the next round, why does everyone keep voting for this person when they aren't even that talented, I could have designed something better than that in the given time, that person won all that for just doing something I could have done, etc. Exhibit B: Celebrity gossip columns.)

Harsh commentary. Little compassion.

People judge and complain but perhaps secretly wish they could live that way or get that special treatment. In the story, the father points out to the older son that the treatment he received was no different than his lost brother; he had everything at his disposal. The only issue was how he perceived the situation.

This troubled me. Am I an example of that kind of equality in love? Am I compassionate and genuinely joyful for others in their homecoming? This is BIG. Bigger that most things that have been cluttering my focus lately.


Reminds me of the part from "Everybody's Free".
"The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind. The kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday."

 For me it was on a Sunday.