When it came around to Christmas time, me and my sister were BLESSED a.k.a. Spoiled! (I know you wouldn't have guessed from our cute pic with our granny!) Christmas morning we'd have the family sitting all around. Me and my sister would pass out presents to each person and everyone would have a pile of presents and would take turns opening a present. We'd go about two or three rounds before it was just me and my sister opening presents and then everyone would just watch us. You think we'd be happy with so much, but really we were watching each other and keeping track of the other person's presents. Did she have more presents than me? Were her presents bigger than mine? Every Year I would get more than I asked for, but I didn't just enjoy it, I had to keep an eye on my sister's pile.
In this series called Spoonfed, we talked about things we so often think that we are entitled to and those things are the things we take for granted, things like our own spirituality, safety, and success. Today we're talking about the idea of feeling entitled to stuff like success. I'm not just talking about being popular or the best at what we do, I'm talking about that role in the play we think should be ours, that spot on the team, or the phone or the iPod that everyone else has. This is something we all could work on.
If you look in the Bible at another pair of siblings, you'll find that the Bible talks about this same thing we struggle with! This story is about a father and two sons. The youngest son comes to his father and asks for his inheritance now. During these times, this was basically saying I wish you were dead! The story gets worse! The son goes off to another city and spends it all! but he runs out. He ends up wishing he could eat the food he was giving to pigs in his job. He thinks to himself, "My father's servants are better off than this. I'll go back to beg for my father's forgiveness and be his servant". But while he is still walking, his father sees him and runs to him. Doesn't even let the son get through his "I'm sorry" speech. The father calls for a party! This is where we are in the story. Now we're going to look at Luke 15:25-32
"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "A lot of times, we look at the younger brother in this story, but I want to look at the older brother because quite frankly, I relate more with him. I wish I could say with certainty that I would be at that party celebrating with my brother, but reality is that I might be the one missing out on the party. We see that the older brother misses out on the party because he's focused on what he doesn't have and what his brother has. So much that he forgets the one gift that truly mattered in all of this story, also the one gift he had that his younger brother missed out on, all that time with his father!
I know there is a lot you can get out of this story, but I just want to share with three points I got out of it. First point is being good doesn't get you good things. We can't earn God's grace. That's why they call it grace. We don't deserve it, and it's a gift that free! The minute you start to think you can earn it is when you miss out on the party. You start thinking that you are entitled to things like that thing you have been asking for or that place you've been working for. This leads us into the second point. Enjoying what we have! Everything we own, everything was given to us as a gift from God. When we can realize that, we can enjoy it a little more. Instead of seeking for the next best thing, what we think will make us happy. Third thing I got out of this is when I'm missing out on the party, I missing a celebration! I've become too focused on what I don't have that I can't be happy for my friends or family in their blessings also!
So I want to leave y'all with some challenges from this topic...
1. Be Content
2. Be Thankful
3. Be Giving
Being content means looking at what you DO have instead of what you don't have. What a difference when you realize that you have so much, especially in a world where everyone else has so much less than you! Think about it, if your family owns a car, than they are in the top ten percent of people with money in the world. We have a lot to be thankful for! So write a list out, don't just write down things you own. Write down things that others in the world don't have like clean drinking water and an education. When you look at that list, you'll see a lot. Maybe there's something that you can give to others! God blesses us so that we can bless others! So how are you giving to others? Something as simple as saving toys from kid's meal and giving them to the kids we visit at mission trips! So I challenge you to these things.
I also challenge you to start thinking different about how we view stuff and success. Don't end up missing out on the party!
~Ash
Vibe Intern @ Chase Oaks
Agonzales@chaseoaks.org
