Maybe you’ve heard the parable of the Prodigal Son so many times, you can recite it backwards as well as write a chapter book on all of the sermons and lessons squeezed out of it. But have you considered the influences leading to the older brother’s hard heartedness?  

 

In this parable Jesus introduces settings, props and a limited cast of characters.

Settings and props

  • The estate
  • Younger brother’s portion of the estate
  • The distant country
  • A famine
  • Pigs and corn husks
  • Robe, ring & sandals 
  • Fattened calf & ensuing celebration
  • A field/part of the estate 

Characters

  • A man/the father of two sons
  • The younger son
  • A citizen/employer in a far country
  • The father’s hired workers
  • The father’s servants
  • The older son
  • The partygoers

What a stimulating array of elements in such a short tale. But where’s Mama? Had the sons’ mother passed away? Or had the brothers suffered a similar loss?

Jesus doesn’t center this story around what led to the departure of the younger brother or the source of the older brother’s resentment toward the younger. However, human hearts are adversely impacted by deprivation of important things or people. No one in this broken world possesses every essential blessing God originally intended. When experiencing major losses, one’s reactions and responses might be conscious and identifiable, but other, subconscious ones emerge in peculiar ways. 

In this parable, both sons poured inadequate things and relationships into the empty places in their hearts. At the same time, they both rejected their father’s ready companionship and secure, daily provision.

The narrative suggests that, although he appeared to work hard on his father’s behalf, the older son seemed to have pursued independence and self-determination to gratify himself. This would have created emotional distance from his father. Upon the return of his wayward brother, this rift showed up when the son chose to consult with a family servant rather than going directly to his father. 

The following words of the older brother indicate that he had disdained his father’s eagerness to share his abundant resources. As a result, this son found himself working harder than necessary and receiving little for his efforts. This created an ideal breeding ground for resentment.

“…‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’” Luke 15:29-30 CSB

 

Think about this: What and/or whom have you lost? Has that deficiency led you to depend on your own strength and resources? If so, redirect your energy by asking your Heavenly Father for something specific today. Be bold. Keep James 4:1-3 in mind. Rely on him.

 

by Kathleen Petersen

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