Then he said: “A certain man had two sons. The younger of them (inappropriately) said to his father, ‘father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.’ So he divided the estate between them. A few days later, the younger son gathered together everything (that he had) and travelled to a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and immoral living. Now, when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to do without and be in need,” (Luke 15:11-14 AMB).
The 15th chapter of the gospel as recorded by Luke has three important parables told by our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ — the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son (15:11-31). These parables as told capture the love of God through Christ for sinners, His redemption plan and His willingness to pardon, absolute, absolve and receive back all who come to Him in repentance.
Beyond the father’s love, in the parable of the lost son, we could see the importance of living a purposeful lifestyle. The choice we make, the company we keep and the style of life we live has a way of affecting us.
Sometimes when people lack experience about life, they assume life to be all beds of roses and consider life challenges as strange. Someone rightly said that no route to life is rosy. As an old student of Government Army Secondary School, Elele Army Barrack, I remember our school motto: “Success Is Not Cheap.” The road to success may be filled with several distractions.
In Luke 15:12; it is recorded: “and the younger of them said to his father ‘father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me, so, he divided to them his livelihood’ (NKJV). There is nothing bad in having a big dream, yes! As a young man, this son referred to as the prodigal son in the parable; before meeting his father to ask for his share of the estate must have known the law pertaining to inheritance (Deut. 21:15-17). He must have known what to say and how to say it to make his father oblige him; furthermore, he must have thought it out clearly on the right time he would ask for his share, the possible invest plan and opportunities, how to grow and double the shares afterward live his dream life. If this young man had all these sorted out clearly; the question then would be: what went wrong and how did he get it wrong in his lofty plan and ambition?
Wilson Mizner once said: “The gent who wakes up and finds himself a success hasn’t been asleep,” this is true because no success happens by accident. In Nehemiah 4:1-6, some enemies of the Jews heard that Nehemiah and other Jews had begun making progress in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, they were not only angry, but also took great indignation and mocked the Jews. They conspired and tried everything politically and humanly possible to stop the work.
Nehemiah, being purposeful, was determined to finish the task no matter what it will require. He consciously refused to be distracted rather concentrated on the task, concentration is one of the greatest element of strength. Ralph Waldo Emerson did say: “Concentration is the secret of strength.”
To Achieve Success It Is Important To Note The Following:
• Know who you are.
• Know what you want.
• Overlook distractions and distractors.
• Kiss the dust — don’t fear mistakes and be ready to suffer even the unbearable.
• Beware of pleasure no matter the pressure.
• Do not be a time waster.
• Be focused on the target even as you depend on divine assistance.
Henry David Thoreau said that the man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest. The eye will never be tired of seeing; life will always have fanciful things around it.
What Does It Mean To Be Purposeful?
It can be defined as the act of intending to do something; a resolution and determination. Looking at this closely you will discover the following: action, intention, resolution and determination. These four words can also be summed up as determination. The firmness of purpose or character, resolution, a coming to a decision is defined as determination.
The moment the prodigal son got his share, he went abroad, away from home; some would also say that it was a step in the right direction. We must be careful of certain things that will distract us from achieving greatness or hitting our goals.
In Daniel 1:8, we saw the role determination played in the face of distraction and the after result. But this younger son, however, failed to realise and deal with his pleasure and lifestyle. In proverbs 21:17 the Bible said: “Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.” Not realising this truth, the young man began to be wasteful.
Reading Luke 15:13 from various Bible versions:
NIV puts it this way: “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”
The message Bible writes: “It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had.”
The common English Bible says: “Soon afterward, the younger son gathered everything together and took a trip to a land far away there, he wasted his wealth through extravagant living.”
These versions point us deeper to the problem of the young son-wasteful living, wild living. He lived life as he willed, as the society pressurised and permitted him, after all of this, his life, wealth, time, freedom and his sense of independence, destroyed everything and he became wretched.
Tips Of Life
• The word of God not the philosophy of the world should guide your choice and decisions.
• Everything in life does not last forever, they pass away with time, chance and season.
• Be careful of the influence and energy you allow around you; evil company can destroy your good intentions (I Corinthians 15:33).
• Be satisfied with what you have as you strive to improve, never live life to impress anyone, but have fulfillment.
• Beware of your weakness, many will take advantage of you by the lightest opportunity.
• Never give people reason to toil with your ‘You’ – your self-worth is priceless.
• Avoid things that expose your weakness, it could be very frustrating.
• Uphold what is morally right and ethically acceptable.
• Intentionally avoid places and quarters that could strip off your glory and grace.
• Do not make promises to impress anyone.
• Go to the right place and also at the right time.
• Learn to say the right things, the right way and at the right time – be mindful of what you do always.
• Allow the Holy Spirit to always control your whole being.
• Venerable Stephen Wolemonwu is the Rector Ibru Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State (08035413812)