The Other Prodigal

Introduction

Are there people in your life who simply irritate you? Some people are like that, aren't they? Some of you may point to the person with whom you are married to make your case. Listen to this story.

In bed the other morning, my husband looked at me and said, "I think you're losing weight."I had been dieting for the past month, so I was thrilled to hear this. Hoping he was going to tell me how good I looked, I asked him what made him think so.

He answered, "Because you aren't snoring as much."

Some of you would point to a coworker as an example of a person who is irritating. Listen to this story.

Dave irritated everyone in our office. Whether it was the tone of his voice or his condescending attitude, we all steered clear. He must have suspected he was annoying because he asked a co- worker, "Why does everybody take an instant dislike to me?" Larry responded, "It saves time."

In our study last week, we saw the story of the prodigal son. As we read that story, we saw yet another character. He was the older brother. Many through the years have written about this elder brother. They have often criticized him as a person who was irritating at best. Let's study the second character in this great drama. Who was he? Could he be called a prodigal as well?

When we left the story last week, there was a party going on. Turn with me to Luke 15:20-32.

The story which we studied last week left us with a joyous situation in which the young son had shown forth a tremendous change and had come home to the father.

The boy not only experienced regret or remorse, but also true repentance, which involved the will as well as the mind and emotions. Our resolutions may be commendable, but unless we act on them, they can never of themselves bring about any permanent good. This young man came home to the father and it was a joyous time. The father threw a great party for him. We will talk about this father next week, but certainly he pictures to us the attitude of our heavenly father toward sinners who repent.

At this point in the parable, the Scribes and Pharisees felt confident that they had escaped our Lord's judgment, for He had centered His attention on the publicans and sinners pictured by the prodigal or run away son. Jesus continued the story, however, and introduced the older brother, who is a clear illustration of the Scribes and Pharisees. While it might be said that the publicans and sinners were guilty of obvious sins of the flesh, the Pharisees and Scribes were guilty of sins of the inner heart.

While their outward actions may have been blameless, their inward attitudes were wrong before the Lord.

I. The Older Brother Had Some Commendable Virtues

He worked hard and always obeyed his father. He never brought disgrace neither to the home nor to the village, and apparently he had enough friends so that he could have planned an enjoyable party. He seems like a good solid citizen in compared to his younger brother, he may have seemed a saint. There are many who come to church every Sunday who give the outward appearance of a person in whose life everything is just right. They have maintained an outward respectability.

However, on the inside their heart has wandered far from God. Are some of you in that category today? Perhaps you could commend yourself for hard work, loyalty, respectability. Matthew 15: 8 says, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."

As important as obedience and diligence are, they are not the only test of character. Jesus taught the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love others (Luke 10:25-28), but the older brother broke both of these divine commandments. He did not love God (represented in the story by the father), and he did not love his brother. The older brother would not forgive his younger brother who wasted the family inheritance and disgraced the family name. Neither would he forgive his  father who had graciously forgiven the young man of those very sins.

II. We Can Serve In Diligence And Obedience With The Wrong Motive

A. We Can Serve Out Of Pride

Pride was one of the failings of the older brother. Just think, he had served his father all those years and had never disobeyed him. What a testimony! However, his heart was not in his work, and he was always dreaming of throwing a big party in which he and his friends could enjoy themselves. Like others in the past, he did God's will but not from the heart. He was a hard worker and a faithful worker, but his work was not a labor of love that would please his father.

When we serve out of pride, there is neither love for the Lord nor love for others. We serve in a way as to bring attention to ourselves. It is not out of a deep love for Christ. Ephesians 6:6 says, "Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ doing the will of God from your heart." When we serve out of pride, we are not serving God from our heart. There can be no love for the Lord when we serve out of that motive.

There can be no love for others when we serve out of a motive of pride. Indeed, the older brother shows no love for the younger son. Look at verse 30. There we see his complaining spirit. There was no rejoicing for the repentance of the brother. When pride ruled the day, attention given to anyone else only pulls away the attention we have sought for ourselves.

I know that no one would raise their hand to confess the sin. However, remember what I said about the young man who came home. The first step in his coming home was to face his weaknesses and sins. When we are caught up in serving our pride, it is the most difficult thing in the world to admit our wrong motivation.

B. We Can Serve Out Of The Motive Of Fear

While not obviously the case in this story, some people serve because they fear the disapproval of other people.