Luke 15:11-13

Luke 15:11-13

And He said, “A certain man was having two sons.  And the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give to me the portion of possessions that belongs to me.’  And he divided his life among them.  And after not too many days, after the younger son gathered all of his things, he went away into a far-away land.  And there he scattered his goods while living recklessly.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Can you hear the arrogance in the words of the son?  Give to me the portion that belongs to me.  First of all, notice the imperative mood.  The son is commanding around the father.  That shows a distinct lack of respect.  Second, do you hear the entitlement?  The Son says that it belongs to him.  How is that, exactly?  Just because someone is born by parents doesn’t give them a right to their possessions.  An inheritance is given, not due!  We can learn so much from this young man about how easy arrogance and entitlement slips into our life.

Are you arrogant anywhere in your life?  Where do you command when you shouldn’t?  Do you ever feel entitled when you shouldn’t?  How do you manage those feelings?

Second Thought:

As we’re looking at the son, notice that after he gets his income – we’re going to ignore the father’s choice to actually listen to his son – he leaves.  He has gotten what he wants and figures it is time to move on.  This is actually something we can learn as we grow in our ability to evaluate ourselves.  When we find ourselves wanting to hide and go away from the people who know us well enough to hold us accountable, we’re about to do something bad.  It’s the old adage.  If someone feels the need to hide something they’re doing, have done, or are about to do, then the action is probably not a good one!  The fact that the son leaves shows us that he’s just not planning anything healthy.

Have you ever gone into hiding so that you can live your life as you want it?  Why aren’t you fooling anyone when you do this?  Why aren’t you fooling God, either?

Third Thought:

Today we are going to leave this parable with proof of the earlier thought.  The son goes away to a foreign land and lives recklessly.  But notice what happens in the story.  Because he has abandoned his accountability, he squanders his goods.  He has nobody to help him look at what he’s doing until it’s too late.

Have you ever lost something completely through your own foolishness because you didn’t have someone holding you accountable?  Who are your accountability people in life?  Why are they important?  What can make accountability hard to accept at times?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 15:14-16