Every family has a party boy.
Or girl.
Picture your family for a moment. Your brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces. I bet you can name at least a couple that have went off the deep end. Drugs. Alcohol. Maybe they had a baby at 16. Maybe they never held down a job. Maybe they stole, from other family members if need be, to pay for their lifestyle.
The family may have never said it, but behind the silence when their name came up at holiday gatherings was a general knowing. They’re a train-wreck. And we all know it.
The thing about party-boys and wild-child-girls, is that their degeneracy is out there flying like a flag in the wind. Or rather, dirty laundry in the wind. Every one can see it. Everyone can smell it.
For the majority of us, however, have a depravity that looks good to the world.
A woman manipulates co-wrokers and family members to get ahead in life. And get ahead she does. A dad zones-out in front of the television to escape the stress of his day – he can run a multi-million dollar corporation but he can’t figure out how to talk to his wife. A 30-something has a glass of wine to deal. Or two. It’s after work, in the quiet of their home, and it’s the only thing that eases the loneliness. A mom is a control freak. She runs PTA and local fundraisers, but at home her husband and kids know all to well that if momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.
Maybe you’re a worrier.
Or you fake your way through life.
Maybe you take roles in your church to feel important.
Maybe you eat to deal.
Maybe you work longer hours.
We all have our tendencies that come – not from God, but from an inward force the Bible calls our flesh. Which sounds totally gross. Flesh. Everything we were before we met Him. Not just our choices, good or bad, and not just our sins – but our very selves.
The Younger Brother
Every family has a party boy. We’ll call this one Prod. Prod asks his father for cash. Not just that, but Prod asks for the cash that he would have gotten if and when his father died. I don’t know about you, but I can’t really picture going to my father and asking for the money he would give me when he died. I have a feeling that would put a damper on our relationship.
But Prod does. He goes, asks for the money and leaves. He never calls. Never writes. As far as his family knows, maybe he’s dead. That’s how far off the deep end this guy goes.
While he’s away, he spends money on hookers. Lots of them. He picks up the bar tab. And then hits up another bar. He tries one drug. Then another. He buys things he can’t afford, and soon everyone knows who he is – the guy who picks up bar tabs. He parties. And parties hard, until every twenty-dollar bill is gone.
While sobering up he tries to get part time work, but he can’t pay rent. He goes to his so-called friends for cash, but they’ve moved on to another guy with a nice suit. He goes from eating steak to ramen, and pretty soon his cupboards are bare, and collections are calling his cell phone that’s about to be turned off.
He loses his apartment, and sleeps on a couch for a month, until the friend with the couch kicks him out. He goes to a shelter, to eat. He sleeps in the streets. Pan handles.
At some point, Prod has an awakening inside, and decides that even if his dad is forever angry with him – going home is better than the cold, hard cement. And so he goes home.
The Older Brother
Every family has the do-gooder. We’ll call this one John. When Prod left the house, it was John who consoled his mom, and picked up extra chores around the house. Realizing the opportunity to please his dad even more, John worked, hard to be a good son. The best son. He managed his dad’s second business, took over the laborious parts of the yard work, and did all he could to earn affection from his dad.
The Dad, and the Party
The crazy part about this story is not how different the sons are, but how equally the father would and does lavish gifts of love. See, a party is thrown for the kid who messed up. A big party with lots of food, drink and dancing. A really, really happy party.
John, however, is miffed. What, no party for him? No lavish drink? He was the son who did right. Who done good. Who stood by…
What the dad says here speaks to every human being who tries to “flesh” their way through life to get what they want, or what they need:
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. – Luke 15:31-32
Regardless of do-right, or do-wrong, it would seem that neither affect the father’s affection. My Son – you are always with me… everything I have is yours.
Pointless Wrap-Sheets
The tale of two brothers isn’t just about the Prodigal. It’s not really about the older son either. The real star of the show is the Father.
Here the Dad looks at two sets of flesh – one a do-gooder who internally still finds himself wanting, and a party-boy, whose want leads him down a dark path. Both sons grossly misunderstand their Dad. And because of that, try to do their life their way, to get needs met in their fashion.
Can you see yourself in this story yet?
Are you the son or daughter who has wandered far from home? Who has tried desperately to fill a need and a void with worldly affections?
Or are you the elder son or daughter? Whose self-motivated ways are less notable, but no less destructive?
One may look dirtier but they are both the remnants of a broken soul. God doesn’t care about your wrap sheet. Even if you do.
And then we have the Dad. Who in a heart-beat would throw you a party. Who would dress you in fine clothes. Give you a ring. A giant bear-hug. Give you his everything.
May you understand the words of your Daddy God today – that do-gooders and party-boys alike, may approach the throne of grace with confidence. Knowing that their Father is the Father who says:
“You are always with me – everything I have is yours.“
Jessie Davis 