Sin Humiliates
He was no longer a superior citizen (v. 11-12, 14). When one considers a few basic facts from this text, he would notice that this younger son was not from a poor family. His father had many servants and was able to take good care of these servants. Upon returning, the young man was greeted with many great blessings which would not come from a poor family. That being said, when the young man set off for the far away country, he was not destitute. He was what we might consider to be a “superior citizen” monetarily. After spending all with riotous living, he soon found himself in a position lower than he ever dreamed.
He became a servant to swine (v. 15-16). In his poverty, this man took the only job which was apparently available. He joined himself to one of the citizens and began feeding swine. This statement is not a knock on those who raise swine for a living. A relative used to have a small pig farm and made a good living while he did it. The difference is this relative is not a Jew. Pigs are considered unclean by the Jews (cf. Leviticus 11; Acts 10:12). This Jew found himself in the most humiliating position he could be in. He was tending to an unclean animal. Also consider that in his starvation, the food given to the swine begun to be appealing to him. It is thought that this was a type of bean which had a bitter taste. While it would have been filling to the young man, it would have offered him nothing of nutritional value.
Sin has the ability to being man into his lowest state. Consider these extra Biblical examples. Near the end of Daniel 4 one would read of Nebuchadnezzar’s boasting statements. “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30). He was giving himself credit for the national powerhouse which was Babylon. God let the king know who truly deserved credit for Babylon’s existence and for his boasting Nebuchadnezzar ate grass like a wild beast for a period of time. Read Psalm 38:1-8. It is thought that this was written after David’s sin with Bathsheba. Sin put David in a low and humiliating position. What about Judas? He felt sadness after the realization that Christ was going to be put to death and told those who paid him to betray the Christ, “I have sinned!” Their response was simply, “It’s not our concern. Deal with it yourself.” Judas hanged himself. That’s not humiliating part. Acts 1:18 gives more details to the death of Judas. After hanging himself, Judas was cut down from the tree. Apparently time had passed and bodily gasses had built up within his body. His belly burst open adding humiliation to his death. One can even consider the more modern example of our own celebrities. How often do these people start out well enough only for sin to take a major hold of their lives? Soon enough many of these people become parodies of themselves, faced with bitter mocking from others, and sometimes a humiliating ending.
Please understand the sin will take one and drag that person into an utterly humiliating position in life. The best practice is not to get involved as to keep oneself from being drug down into this position.
Sin Alienates
He was alienated from his fair-weather friends (v. 13, 16). One may ask, “Where is there mention of him having fair-weather friends within the parable. This author will concede that there are none mentioned within the text but will argue that one normally does not live “riotously” by oneself. Help is usually given to encourage this type of lifestyle. Where were these so called friends when he began to be in want? It is quite possible that he was working for one and being mistreated. Adversity has a way of telling us who our true friends are and when this young man needed help there was none to be found.
He was alienated from his eldest brother (v. 26-29). This is not intended to give either brother a free pass. Both were wrong in their actions. The eldest brother was in the wrong because his pride caused hatred for his younger brother and spurred a gentle rebuke from his father. What put the eldest brother in this position? The sin committed by his younger brother. It should be understood that sin can and will cause division amongst families. Children have been alienated from parents due vices such as alcoholism, adultery, or other reasons. Parents and siblings have been alienated from children/siblings due to drug usage and a host of other reasons. Is it the correct attitude when one wishes to repent? No, but these types of sins have been known to drive a rift in families. David wrote, “My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.” (Psalm 38:11). The parable shows this to be true.
He was alienated from himself (v. 15-17a). We are told that this young man “came to himself.” This statement was normally used of someone who was mentally deranged coming into his right mind. Understand, this young man was not mentally deranged per se but one can argue that he was not in the right mindset. Truly, when a person makes a decision to live his life in sin, that person is not thinking clearly. Notice how it took this person hitting rock bottom to remember the blessings which came from being under his father’s roof. Sometimes, that is sadly what it takes for someone to come back to the right frame of mind.
That is a brief look at the picture of sin found within this parable. What is the best practice to avoid these things from occurring in your life? Avoid sin! Understandably, none of us will live a perfectly sinless life but one can avoid living his life serving sin by serving One who will truly care for him. That One is Christ. Get rid of the harsh master that is sin and obey the gospel of Christ (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6; Luke 13:3; Romans 10:10; Mark 16:16) to become the servant of righteousness (Romans 6:17-18).
No comments:
Post a Comment