Since today is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, I thought it would be appropriate to think about this Parable of Jesus -- and relate it to our society today.
The Prodigal Son -- the younger of two brothers -- told his father to give him his share of the inheritance money now, rather than after the father died. The father agreed and gave his younger son his share of the inheritance.
The younger son then left the area of his home, and for a time, lived a worldly life, wasting his money on alcoholic drinks and prostitutes, among other things. Shortly thereafter, he ran out of money, and needed a job to feed himself. So he worked on a farm, in which his primary job was taking care of pigs.
After thinking about his miserable plight, the Prodigal Son decided to return home and ask his father to forgive him. When the father saw his younger son approaching his house, he ran to his son and embraced him and kissed him, for the father had thought he had lost this son forever. Mesmerized by his son's return home, the father celebrated his return by providing him with new clothing and having a beautiful feast.
We can see how this Parable of Jesus -- nearly 2,000 years old -- still relates to our society today. The fact is that most human beings continue to be selfish, materialistic, and greedy today, and will do almost anything to achieve wealth, even if it means hurting their fellowman. The recent Madoff case is a good example of this, because Madoff was able to illegally amass over 50 billion dollars without any feelings about how this would hurt his fellowman. Of course, Madoff was punished for his selfish illegal mega-greed by being sentenced to life in prison without any possible parole.
On the other hand, Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son has a positive impact on our society today, because it clearly illustrates the joyful forgiveness of the father for his repentant son. Indeed, we can also relate this forgiveness to God forgiving man for his sins, provided that man is truly sorry for his sins, and genuinely asks God to forgive him.
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