The prodigal son is not the first person, nor will he be the last, to squander his money on useless and unnecessary things. I recently watched a documentary titled, "Broke," about young, professional athletes who are given millions of dollars in their contracts, and end up broke three years later. How can that happen, we wonder? If they would simply put a portion in some conservative investment that is safe, they'd be set for life. But, in many cases, that's not the way people, especially young people, think. Perhaps, as the author suggests, it is due to a not yet fully developed prefrontal cortex in the brain. Perhaps it is also the sin of greed. In any case, poor decisions are made without regard to consequences.
What makes this story even sadder is that the young man is squandering the gift from his father, the undeserved inheritance. It's one thing to waste money you've somehow earned. That's not good, but one could argue you can do what you please with what is yours. It's another thing to squander a pure, undeserved gift from someone else. That's truly a waste.
We are given a great, undeserved gift of God's grace through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This week that great drama is once again brought before us in the events of Holy Week. What will we do with this undeserved inheritance? Will we waste it like the younger son, or make better choices and seek to live the life God would have us live? I suspect we all have some of the prodigal one within us. We've all made choices we'd like to take back. But today we have the opportunity to make new and better choices. Let us choose to be good stewards of the grace of God given to us through the Passion of His Son.
Well stated...sin easily gets out of control
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