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The Prodigal Sister May 19, 2008 By Kimberly
Rigney I never liked
the story of the Prodigal
Son. It never made much sense to
me. It went against everything I had ever been taught. It just
wasn't fair. The prodigal
son gets cocky, decides to move out, and lives his life in sin.
He does everything he knows he's not supposed to do. However,
when the Prodigal comes back home, the dad throws a big party
and celebrates the return of the son. Now all the
while this fuss is being made over the bad boy coming home, the
good son gets left out. There is no big celebration for the good
one. He gets no recognition for doing what he is supposed to do.
Basically, he's good, but yet gets the shaft. Ripped Off That story
isn't fair. If we do bad things, we are to be punished. If we
do good things, we should be rewarded, right? But in this story,
the bad guy gets the party while the good guy has to help clean
up afterwards. It never made sense to me. That's because
I'm the Prodigal's sister. I'm the good girl that has always done
what was expected. I've had my share of hard times, but for the
most part, I've served God to the best of my abilities. I've stayed
out of trouble, avoided as much sin as possible, and gave of myself
physically as much as possible. Yet time after time, I've seen
others get what I wanted. I've watched others be rewarded spiritually
and physically while I got nothing. It's left
me pretty disheartened at times. And most of the time I just felt
I wasn't doing enough. Somewhere I missed something, and I needed
to do even more. Then when I got tired, I felt guilty for wanting
to slack up on all my duties. I was the prodigal's sister, sitting
outside the party pouting because no one was celebrating me. Good, But Not Good Enough? With the love
and guidance of my pastor, I am discovering the problem with being
the prodigal's sister. I am so busy doing everything that I've
never taken time to develop a real relationship with my Father.
My relationship is strictly performance-based. Let me do this,
and let me help with that, and I will please Him. Yet I rarely
sit down and say, tell me a story, teach me Your ways. And while
my Father loves me and all that I do, He really just wants me
to stop and sit on the porch swing and talk awhile. But do you
know the intimacy that is required in just sitting and talking
instead of fixing Him a glass of sweet tea and washing His dishes?
Staying busy requires little interaction with others. It doesn't
require revealing my deepest darkest secrets or greatest fears.
And if my relationship isn't based on performance, then what is
it based on? It's so hard for me to fathom God just loving me
for me and not for all the good things I try to do. But I'm going
to push away the fear and put away the serving tray for a little
while. The cleaning and cooking will take care of itself. For
right now, I'm going to sit and fellowship with my creator, savior,
father, and friend. © 2008, Kimberly
Rigney ------- Kimberly
Rigney is a Junior High and High School teacher that finds
herself learning just as much from her students as they learn
from her. You can catch up on her adventures in and out
of the classroom by checking out her
blog. |
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