More Than a Storyනියැදිය

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘prodigal’? What does this word mean? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, prodigal in the adjective form is used to describe someone characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure. In other words, it is to recklessly live in a way that is not worried about how much money is being spent or wasted. In our easily influenced and fast-paced culture today, this is common. Spending or wasting what we don’t have to distract ourselves from God’s relentless pursuit of us. For girls, you might see a clothing haul of new clothes from a store and immediately feel as if you have to go buy those clothes. For guys, you might see a video of a pro athlete and feel the pressure to put that work in to be the best at whatever sport you play. Before you realize, you’re spending your time, money, and thoughts recklessly on the values of the world instead of Jesus.

While the definition of prodigal is primarily about money, you can waste your time in the same way you waste money. How much time do you spend scrolling through social media every day? Yes, I know this is a question that you’re probably used to by now, but really think about how you spend your time and where your mind is throughout your day. Are you dwelling on God’s Word? Praying? Or are you consuming clothing, sports, reels, meaningless content, and crude humor? What we consume influences where we put our money and time because it influences what we think about. More importantly, let’s get to the root of this issue.

Why do you open your phone and scroll endlessly? Is it boredom? A distraction? Think about the times when you’re not doing anything. Before you pick up your phone, where does your mind wander off to? How do you feel in the moments right before you open Instagram or TikTok? The majority of the time, in the moments when we are alone, in the quiet, and bored, our minds begin to process what is happening in our lives. However, when we don't want to face the hard times in our lives, we often distract ourselves with our phones. We waste our time recklessly by scrolling through social media as a distraction, and that leads to being influenced to waste time and money to fit in. All of this is because we don’t want to face what’s really going on by sitting in solitude and silence with the Lord. This is running away from how things are designed to be. Jesus shared a parable in Luke 15 about a son who ran away and recklessly spent his inheritance

If you’re familiar with any of Jesus’ parables, this one is the one that is often talked about the most. This week, we will be looking at each of the characters, what happens in this parable, and how it can be applied to your life.