Thirdly, the oldest son had a value system problem. When he says, "yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends" he is valuing the temporal benefits of this world over the eternal benefits of his relationship with God. The older son stayed home and had a relationship with the Father. He never wanted for anything. He already had everything, yet he valued the wrong things. The Bible teaches us:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6: 19-21
He stored up treasures on earth instead of in heaven. The things that should have mattered did not and those that should not have mattered; mattered greatly to him. The result is that his heart was far from his father, despite being with him all these years. How sad it is that as believers we too can serve God but not know Him. That we can prosper in ministry but have no relationship with Him. That we can start to value the things of this world over the eternal gifts He has already given us! Let it not be so beloved!
Lastly, the older son had a judgmental problem. He speaks ill about his own brother's actions in the world and does so with disdain. As Christians, we must resist this urge as well to be judgmental about others in the world whether they come back to God or not. It seems sometimes that we can forget how far down God had to go to reach us. Too often we can become quick to judge and forget about mercy. It is always easier to see the sins of others and use that to make ourselves feel better about our own sin. Clearly, this older brother was not perfect. It seems this is exactly what Christ taught against on the Sermon on the Mount:
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Matthew 7:3-5
Jesus is teaching about the hypocrisy of judging others by holding them to a standard that you do not hold yourself to. Now, it is true that the older brother did not squander his Father's land or material possessions on prostitutes but he did squander his relationship with his Father for the same amount of years. The younger son was careless in how he treated what his Father had given him but the older son was careless in who his Father was to him. Let us never allow our hearts to become so calloused. Let us never become so lost.
Certainly the younger son was lost but was found. A glorious picture of salvation awaiting anyone who simply will turn back toward the Father; who is waiting with open arms. But in the end, it is the older son that was truly lost. The teaching from Jesus continues to reveal not only the dangers of the world, but the heart motivations of those who are already saved. Too often as Christians, we too can fall into the traps of the older son. We too can become angry or confuse our service unto God and our relationship with Him. We too can value the things of this world over the eternal treasures we already possess or find ourselves judging others. These are the pitfalls Jesus is warning us about in this parable.
Remember, the older son already had it all. He already had the relationship with the Father and so do we as believers. We need to guard our hearts against anger and bitterness. We need to never confuse our service with our relationship with God. We need to treasure that relationship above all else; truly valuing our eternal perspective. Lastly, we need to never forget how far God had to go to save us preventing any judgmental attitude from interfering with our spirit.
A picture of salvation for the lost and a warning to the saved about becoming lost all within one parable. All taught by the Master.
Hallelujah!
Reverend Anthony Wade February 26, 2009
