Monday, November 23, 2009
Lost and Found, Part 59 of 78
TEXT: "Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found' " (Luke 15:25-32).
IDEA: Self-righteousness is a deadly sin difficult to diagnose in ourselves.
PURPOSE: To convince listeners that the sin of respectable people is most deadly.
If you stopped people on the street, or even in the church, what would you guess they would vote as the worst sin of all?
From what you know of the Bible, what would you say is the deadliest sin?
Self-righteousness
Jesus spoke of this sin more frequently than of any other sin.
Jesus could be tender, gracious, and accepting toward men and women involved in adultery, drunkenness, murder, or demon possession. When faced with the self-righteous Pharisees with their smug religious complacency, Jesus’ words burn and sear and scorch.
Why does Jesus single out self-righteousness as the most deadly sin of all? It can always be proved by the book that it is right.
The story of the prodigal son has two parts. The most familiar part tells of the son who was lost through rebellion and went to a distant country and wasted his father’s money.
The second part deals with a decent, respectable boy who was as far away from his father as his younger brother was. Read again the story in Luke 15:25-32.
The elder brother is working in the field when his brother comes home from the distant country. Because of his work, the elder brother is late for the festivities.
Why do you think Jesus started this episode with the young man working in the field?
There’s something about hard work that awakens a self-righteous attitude in us.
“I’ve been slaving all day over a hot stove!”
“I’ve worked hard all my life. I’m not going to support deadbeats!”
Our hard work makes us look down on other people and makes us feel superior.
That’s how this young man feels about his younger brother. He feels superior. He refuses to celebrate his brother’s return.
He pouts and sulks like a little boy, refusing to go into the house. Listen to the emphasis on self in his response:
“Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your commands; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.”
He also has contempt for his younger brother and blame toward his father. “This son of yours” . . . “You killed the fattened calf for him.”
Some of us can identify with the younger brother; but all of us have reacted to God and to others like the older brother. We may see the ugly attitude in the older brother in the story - but he could justify it.
We don’t see it in ourselves because we can justify it.
