I Want Mine

Our jobs, our houses, our children, our spouses, our cars, favorite knick knacks, our hobbies, our talents, and our health have one thing in common: they are all blessings from the Lord. The way we treat the blessings the Lord entrusts portrays how we think of God. In the story of the prodigal son, Jesus tells of two ungrateful brothers and how their poor assessment of their inheritance led to their own misery and separation from their father.

Luke 15:11–13 ESV

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.

Luke 15:11–32 ESV

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

The younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance while the father is still living (). In the time of Jesus, asking for an inheritance before your parent’s death was equal to telling them you wanted them to die (Brad H. Young, “The Inheritance,” Jesus the Jewish Theologian [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995], 145). The son believes his father is standing between him and happiness. He takes all he can from his father and spends it on “wild living” (v. 13). The world is full of people who assume the blessings the Lord gives are theirs for the taking.

Luke 15:14–16 ESV

And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

Luke

Wasting our gifts on our own glory and pleasure leaves us unfulfilled and miserable.

Jimi Hendrix,

Layne Staley,

and Elvis Presley

Kanye West.....has he turned his life around? We need to be thankful and grateful for the testimony Kanye has and what he professes is true in his life while we watch for the fruit in his life.

are just a few incredibly talented, successful musicians who sought fulfillment in success and all ended up the same way. When success was no longer fulfilling, they sold a little more of their talent and health to drugs and alcohol, until their lives were taken from them pursuing the pleasures of the world. These are extreme cases, but the principle remains the same on smaller scale. Failing to appreciate and properly utilize our gifts will entice us to leave them for one empty pursuit after another. Spouses who think their families are impeding their happiness become workaholics—or leave their families all together. Students who think their college studies are a burden, rather than an investment in their future, will spend their time partying and waste their time in school. Misuse of our talents does not always result in death, but it does often lead to broken relationships, squandered opportunities, and lost dreams.

Luke 15:22–32 ESV

But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

The ungratefulness of the older brother is just as offensive as the pursuit of worldly pleasure in the younger brother when we consider both brothers received their inheritance at the same time (v. 12). The older brother underestimated the gift from his father. According to Jewish custom, the older brother would have received an inheritance twice that of his younger brother (Brad Young, Jesus the Jewish Theologian, 147), yet he still believed his father did not care for him. When we find the older son berating his father for not giving him a goat the son already owned, the depth of his ungratefulness is emphasized (v. 29).

I don’t want that car...

Let us envision we give imaginary person Bob a fully loaded Corvette. We tell Bob, “This car has a lot to offer, be sure to check manual for all the features. The car is yours with no loan payment. We will take care of the insurance, and the maintenance. Just drive it and enjoy it.”

Imagine Bob going through all the car’s features and complaining about them. Power windows: “One more thing to break.” Sunroof: “Notorious for leaking.” 755-horsepower engine: “They don’t really expect me to pay for premium gasoline, do they?” He reads though the manual and treats every feature like an item on a list of reason not to drive this car. With this type of attitude, Bob is not going to get very far in his car, and he is certainly not going to enjoy it.

Hebrew word for content shows up in these proverbs as well shows two ways of living

Proverbs 15:13 ESV

A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.

Let us envision we give imaginary person Bob a fully loaded Corvette. We tell Bob, “This car has a lot to offer, be sure to check manual for all the features. The car is yours with no loan payment. We will take care of the insurance, and the maintenance. Just drive it and enjoy it.” Imagine Bob going through all the car’s features and complaining about them. Power windows: “One more thing to break.” Sunroof: “Notorious for leaking.” 755-horsepower engine: “They don’t really expect me to pay for premium gasoline, do they?” He reads though the manual and treats every feature like an item on a list of reason not to drive this car. With this type of attitude, Bob is not going to get very far in his car, and he is certainly not going to enjoy it.

glad, thankful heart = life to our Spirit

sorrow.....continued desire of what we don’t have = crushed spirit

Proverbs 15:15 ESV

All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

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when we live in contentment with what the Lord has blessed us with we will always be full and filled with his blessing similar to those filled with food at a huge feast.

Proverbs 15:30 ESV

The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.

Hebrews 13:5 ESV

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

God here is telling us about sacrifices that are pleasing to him and how our lives should be postured

Love of Money = our hearts loving, worshiping the desire for more, accumulation

AND BE AT PEACE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

I will never leave you nor forsake you........why did the writer of Hebrews put that statement from God after he tells us to be content with what we have?

God is our inheritance!

Our hearts desire is to have more and more of him…to never be content with anything other than the fullness of God in our relationship with Him.

God wants to be in such a close relationship with you that his thoughts become our thoughts and we hang out together so much that we become like brother.....scripture says closer than brothers.

The closeness that God desires to have with us is an eternal gift that if we could even understand a fraction of what that means our hearts would never wander or want anything else.

Misunderstanding God’s goodness keeps us from being thankful. We can act like the younger brother, getting so fixated on the things God can give us that we get angry when he does not give us everything we want. We can act like the older brother, seeing God’s blessings as a burden. We have to adjust our perspective to remind ourselves to be thankful for the blessings God give to us. We must remind ourselves that behind every good gift is a loving Father who wants to show his love with the gifts he gives (). When we feel ungrateful, we should pause and ask him to show us how his gifts can teach us to love him.

Understanding God’s goodness allows us to be thankful for the gifts he gives us.

I Want Mine

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