Being Stubborn

Things would have been easier for the prodigal son if he would have accepted his need for the father as soon as he was left in want. Unfortunately, the prodigal son turned out to be a little stubborn. Luke 15:15-16 tells us:

“Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.”

Instead of turning back to the father the son continued to rely on other things even though those other things refused to help him. This is very much like us. Sometimes we turn to money for security, but we can never seem to hold onto it. Do we refuse to turn from the pursuit of money as a result? No. We instead look for new ways to acquire what we desire even though there has never been a time that it has satisfied us. Also, when we choose to worship sex, do we turn from it after it has left us wanting? No. We instead keep looking for new people to have sex with, or turn to porn, ourselves, or anything else to fill that void within us. Or we can choose to put other things in the place of God hoping they’ll satisfy us. When money fails we can turn to sex. When sex fails we can turn to friends. When friends fail we can turn to power. When power fails we can turn to ourselves. We can always find something else to pursue when we are left in want.

We can choose to never really admit that we are worshiping the wrong things even if we, like the prodigal son, get so desperate that we find the filth of the swine desirable. We can be stubborn just like him.

Fortunately, things turned around with the very next verse. If we stop being stubborn, and turn from the things not worthy of worship, for it is evil to worship anything that is not God whether it is porn or our children, then things can also turn around for us. That is easier said than done, however, and I realize that. Difficult, however, is not impossible. Soon we will see just how we can break the chains of the things that always leave us in want, and learn how to turn to the one who can always fill us. It starts with the very next verse.