Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. – Luke 15:13-14
The younger son didn’t waste any time. Jesus says he got everything he had together and set off for a distant country. It’s almost like he couldn’t get away fast enough. And once he got there, he burned through everything his father had given him. No plan. No budget. No thought of tomorrow. Just reckless living until it was all gone. And to make matters worse, when the money ran out – a famine hit the land. His world fell apart so fast!
Does this sound familiar? It sure does for me.
Not long after we were married, my wife and I started a family. Now, we certainly weren’t wealthy, but we were doing okay financially. And then our friends told us, “Stop throwing your money down the drain by renting an apartment. You should purchase a house, especially now that you have a family!”
Of course, this isn’t horrible advice in itself. But there’s also an important principle about being financially prepared to take on that kind of commitment. Being young and inexperienced with money, we foolishly followed their advice. You see – it wasn’t just the house. It was also the furniture we needed, the appliances, and everything else that comes with furnishing a bigger home. In hardly no time at all we were living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to get by, with no money being saved for a rainy day. We didn’t experience a famine per se, but we had very little wiggle room for unexpected expenses. We didn’t own that house – it owned us.
I want it all. And I want it now.
Isn’t this the story for many of us, especially early on in life? And not just with purchasing things we can’t afford, but assuming that there are greater things awaiting us elsewhere. We think life will be better in this zip code, so we pack up the family and move. New job, new house, new school, new location, new life! Our problems are behind us! But then when the dust settles and we’ve had a minute or two of this distant-country living, we begin to realize that what we left behind really wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was pretty darned good. Maybe we would’ve been better off staying where we were.
Our recklessness was borne out of our restlessness.
Deep down, we just want to do things our own way, chasing what looks fun and exciting. We hear it all the time don’t we – just follow your heart! But the younger son clearly illustrates the dangers that come with distant-country living… that following our heart without a Father’s love and guidance often leads to nothing but heartache.
This part of the Prodigal story reminds me that God lets me go my way if that’s what I choose. But He doesn’t shield me from the fallout. The son had to learn the hard way that life apart from his father never works out. The same is true for me.
Former Blackout Artist 