In last week’s column, I asked: “What good does it do to trust God with your whole heart if you do not embrace joy along the way?” I pointed out that this kind of relationship with the Lord is kinda like a three-legged stool with one of the legs missing. It’s just not functional. I then transitioned to the story of The Prodigal Son and pointed out that this is a parable about TWO sons. While we readily identify with the younger son who left home and wasted everything on sinful living, the Bible says in Luke 15:11, “… A certain man had TWO sons.” I then parked on the scriptures describing the older son's actions and examined why he failed to embrace joy.
Last week, I mentioned several reasons that caused the older son to fail to embrace joy. First, he got angry. And as my brother-in-law often states, “Emotion (which is what anger is) has an IQ of zero.” This is so true! Secondly, he got his information from the wrong source. Why is he, the master of the house, getting crucial information regarding his family dynamics from a servant instead of his father? Thirdly, he gets jealous of his father throwing a party for his brother. Fourthly, although I didn’t mention it last week, he proved his immaturity when he complained that his father had never given him a party. So, in case you haven’t noticed, we have the picture of a dysfunctional family in this story. They could have put the “D” in dysfunctional!
Years ago, I made the statement that I didn’t have to go looking for trouble; it came looking for me. I stated how that one minute, I could be sitting in my office, minding my own business, at peace with the world and myself, and the very next minute, my phone would ring, and the person on the other end would tell me, in no uncertain terms, just how vile and wretched a person I was. Everything they were upset about was my fault. And although I was innocent, they would not hear or accept it. Due to no fault of my own, I found myself in a no-win situation.
The father in this parable epitomizes what I am talking about. Let’s think this through logically for a moment. First, I find he was most likely a successful businessman who gave his two sons a good home. Secondly, I believe he genuinely loved both of his sons and raised them right. And finally, I find no mention that he was anything but a model father. But then, trouble raised its ugly head in this idealistic family situation. His youngest son rebelled, left home, and lived a very sinful, wicked lifestyle, which broke his heart. Suddenly, due to no fault of his own, he found himself in the crosshairs of trouble. Whatever happened, innocent or not, he was going to lose. I hate it when that happens to me!
The story progresses to a day when his sons are on their way to the house. One comes from a pigpen, while the other comes from the field. The younger is coming in humble repentance, while the older is coming in haughty, childish arrogance. So, track with me. This dad had two sons. He lost the younger, but he returned. Consequently, on a day that should have been nothing but joy, due to no fault of his own, he loses his older son. What a tragedy.
Unfortunately, as I’ve described above, the story plays out all too often today in the homes of good Godly families. To me, the takeaway from this parable is not the actions of either son but rather the father's actions. He found great joy in the restoration of his youngest son. He then decided not to allow the actions of his oldest son to take that joy from him. Here’s a truth somebody needs to grab hold of: Happiness is a choice. And while we cannot control what happens to us – we can control how we respond. This father told his oldest son that what he did was right, and there was a party going on inside the house that he was welcome to join. However, he wasn’t going to bring it outside to him. He gave him a choice: Party or pout!
Again, we have that same choice: Party or pout. Please choose to embrace joy!
Brother Aaron