The Prodigal Compassion for the Prideful – Part II
I was listening to a youth pastor this week by the name of David Marvin. He shared a statistic on selfies that was surprising to me. There are on average 93 million selfies taken a day and posted on social media. And there has become known a phrase, “death by selfies” where one is so focused on themselves that they don’t pay attention to their surroundings, and they end up in an accident and lose their life. Becoming self-focused causes one to become prideful and pride will bring death in one’s life, in one’s relationships, and even in one’s ability to have a relationship with God. We see this in scripture with what happened to Lucifer (Satan) in heaven when he became so focused on himself that he broke fellowship with his Creator and he was cast out of heaven. Even Jesus said of Satan that He had seen him fall like lightning from heaven. This explains why God repeats in his Word many times concerning pride why it is something He hates. Psalms 10:4 “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” Proverbs 8:13 “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” James 5:5 “. . . God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Pride puts one at odds with God. Pride also seems to be one of those tolerable sins when compared to some others. For example, if I said I struggled today with murder, one might become repelled but if I said I struggle with pride, we might say something like, what’s the big deal, who doesn’t.
Last week we asked the question: What do you think God thinks when he looks at you? We may sometimes think God is fed up with our failures and wants nothing to do with us. We may think he is disappointed in us or that he might love us more if we worked harder. But according to Jesus, God doesn’t think like that. The truth about God’s heart for sinners may surprise us and certainly has the power to change our lives.
We began by looking at the parable of the Prodigal Son and the setting in which Jesus shared this story of a father and two sons. If you will recall, he was sharing the story in the presence of tax collectors and sinners, and with the Pharisees. The tax collectors and sinners, represented by the younger son, probably felt that God rejected them because of their behavior, that they would never be worthy of God’s love. The Pharisees, represented by the older brother, were just the opposite; they wrongfully thought they were excepted because of their good behavior. Last week, we took a look at the younger son.
The Younger Son
He became selfish.
He acted hastily.
He wasted everything he had.
He separated himself from every relationship that was important to him.
He made a long string of bad decisions.
The prodigal son has hit rock bottom.
He returns to his senses and returns home to the Father.
The Father is filled with compassion for his son and ran to him
This parable tells us what the heart of the Father is filled with when He looks at us – COMPASSION!
The Eldest Son
Luke 15:25 – 32
Pride is the biggest barrier in one’s relationship with one’s Heavenly Father. As with the older brother in the story, pride in our good behavior can lead us to think that one has earned a relationship with God and can keep one from knowing their Heavenly Father.
Notice in verse 29, the older brother refers to himself as a slave. The older brother doesn’t see himself as a son but sees himself as a slave. A loving father never wants his children to see themselves as slaves, but always wants them to know they are his sons/daughters. Our God never wanted slaves, he wanted children. God’s love for you and I is not determined by what one does or hasn’t done. God loves you no matter what your past is; no matter what you have done or have not done.
The Pharisee’s were a group of men who were disciplined and rule keepers. To be a Pharisee, one must memorize the first 5 books of the Torah by the age of 12. They were such strict adherers to the Law, they would go to the extreme not to disobey it; such as not even saying the name of God with fear they may somehow take his name in vain; or avoid even looking at a woman because of the fear of being tempted of committing adultery (bleeding Pharisee’s). Pharisee thought because of how well they were disciplined and good they were, they were worthy of God’s love. But all they were doing for God did not create a love for God. It created pride in themselves. Matthew 23
Pride is one of the things that will keep us from a relationship with our Heavenly Father. Why? It keeps us from accepting God’s freely given love. John 3:16, 17 Notice Jesus did not say that whosoever behaves, but whosoever believes. It is only by trusting in Jesus Christ and the work that he did on the Cross, the shedding of his blood for our sins (death), burial, and resurrection are we able to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
“One can be lost through rebellion and one can be lost through religion!” (David Marvin)
The Father loved both of his Sons, the rebellious and the religious son. Neither son really knew the heart of their Father. Notice some of the last words to the elder son; My son, the father said, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
It is not good people who go to heaven; it is forgiven, people. Forgiven people love because they have been loved.
There was a time in Jesus’ ministry where when he would travel people would follow him around everywhere, everyone wanted to know who he is.