Christians know the beautiful Parable of the Prodigal Son as a heart-rending story that demonstrates the radical love and grace of God.Yet, most of us fail to see that the story is replete with valuable lessons from the financial mistakes made by this prodigal.
In Luke 15, Jesus begins the parable by introducing a man with two sons. The younger one made a demand to his father. “Father, give me my share of the estate.” The brazen young man was essentially communicating to his dad that he preferred money over a relationship with his father. Now before we move on, I hear this often in the circles of those spewing out the false doctrines of the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth crowd. If you are a parent, how would you feel if your child demanded of you, “Give me my stuff! I don’t care about you, I just want the stuff!” This is the prosperity gospel, and it is an affront to God, the giver of all blessings, when we demand the bread but want nothing to do with the Baker!
The second financial mistake of the Prodigal son was his total misuse of the money. His get-rich-quick scheme led to his utter destruction. After a bout of wild living, he was in despair, desiring some of the food that pigs were given to eat. This was about as low as he could go as a Jew.
But, the story has a happy ending. He repented and turned back to God. Do you see yourself in any of that story? Have you demanded more and more from God? Have you squandered what He has provided? If you are a financial prodigal, turn back to God. Repent of your sin and begin fresh today.
