I have often asked myself which character I feel the most affinity to in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11-32). I wish I could say the father, but I know that I can never measure up to the standard that Jesus had set in the character of the Father. After all, who can measure up to the mercy of God Himself?! So, I was left with two: the older son and the younger son. I am the oldest among my brothers and so there are times I can understand how the elder brother in the parable felt. However, except for my earliest memories (of which I have very little recall), I do not think I had ever felt jealous of my younger brothers. Being selfish or stingy was strictly frowned upon as far as I can remember. There was sibling rivalry but not so much for our parents’ attention. We had rows over which channel to watch on TV (all rather quiet, of course, for the times when the row was discovered, the television set had stayed switched off), who had higher marks, could run faster, among other things. Did I have times when I resented having a brother? I can recall once, when I was probably five years old? We each had a toy Boeing plane with lights that blinked at the engines of the aeroplane. My brother, three that time, had plucked out the lights of his plane and his interest gravitated towards mine who still had the lights blinking. I still remember both my parents telling me to share. No prizes for knowing what happened next: the lights on my toy aeroplane had their lights plucked out as well. I was angry with my parents and with my brother. That feeling was so great that I still remember the incident. Am I still angry? I go to my younger brothers for advice without a second thought now.
(You can see a YouTube video of a similar toy here. It is an advertisement, so I cannot embed it here.)
So, what about the Prodigal Son? I believe we take on both roles. When we take on the role of the elder son, we become the envious and self-righteous one. When we realise that we have been envious and self-righteous, we need to take a step back and look honestly at our lives. Jesus had said, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Mt. 7:3) I believe that this applies for good and bad things. Why do you see the one speck of good that your brother has that you do not have, and do not notice the log of good that God has given in your life? We tend to focus on the ills, the bad experiences and the things we lack in our life. Knowing the above can motivate us to better our lives but focussing on them without the balance of the blessings, good experiences and things we already have, can cause us to have a really warped view of life. Furthermore, if we confuse needs with wants, the situation becomes worse. Do you think that God allowed the smart phone to be invented so that it can become something we cannot do without? The smart phone is usually a want and seldom a real need. I know of one person who has survived till today without ever having the need to use WhatsApp. God allowed the smart phone to be invented to help us make life easier but not to take His place in our lives.
Thus, let us take a step back and look honestly at our lives. Balance the good with the bad, distinguish between what is really a need and what is simply a want or desire, and then, consider if the Lord really has a few selected favourites. We will be very surprised to see that while he treats each person differently, each of us is special in His eyes because He created each of us unique.
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