Beloved Sons With A Slavish Mentality

Luke 15:11-32
Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 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. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 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.’

28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 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. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 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.’”

We all know of this parable of the prodigal son. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Let us learn a few things from this parable. 

A slave is not born in the family; a son is a product of the family, and has the blood of the father. A son is entitled to the father's inheritance, while a slave isn't. A son can communicate freely with the father, but a servant/ slave cannot. 

Being in Christ, we are all sons of God. 

Genesis 3:26- 4:1

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according tot he promise. 

4 Now I say that the Heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all.

The older brother had a child mentality, ignorant of what belonged to him. He could not ask for his inheritance, being a child. It does not matter how long we have been in the kingdom, we must rise up and know our position in the kingdom. we are sons. 

The older brother had a problem communicating with the father, having a slavish/ servants' mentality. The younger had no problem communicating with the father, which is why he was free to ask the father for his inheritance. He understood the father, and how to ask. Are you a son or a servant? Do you have trouble communicating with the Father? Are you free with Him, and know how to express yourself to Him, and how to ask? 

By asking for his inheritance, the prodigal son exhibited a son mentality, as he showed he had known who he is to the father and what he was entitled to. 

God knows us, and the reason why He is not answering some people's prayers is because He knows they have a slavish mentality and will run away as soon as He answers their prayers, and live like the prodigal son who ran away with the little money he got from his father. The prodigal son's slavish mentality started when when he forgot his identity and went to the level of eating with pigs, after spending money on prodigal living. 

Even if some of us have ran away after God answered our prayers, He is still patient with us. 

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any perish that all should come to repentance. 

The prodigal son wasted his inheritance on prostitutes. A prostitute is someone who trades their bodies for money. Whenever we leave God for things that do not please Him, He sees us as prostitutes:

Hosea 1:2

When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea: "Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord. 

Jeremiah 3:3

Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain. You have a harlot's forehead; you refuse to be ashamed. 

The Lord God demands faithfulness and holiness to Him. We are married to Him, and should not join our bodies to anyone else's. 

There is no satisfaction away from home. The son, with a slavish mentality, was afraid to go back to the father and repent. He lost the son mentality. A son is always confident of going back to the father when they err. When your son/ daughter wrongs you, that will not stop them from being a son/ daughter. The fellowship may suffer, but the sonship does not change/ stop. God is our Father, and that cannot change. 

The prodigal son, by saying that he did not deserve to be a son but rather a slave, had forgotten that he had not become a son because of his good deeds. He was still a son in good deeds or in bad deeds. We are sons by grace, not works. This is why the prodigal son's father ignored his pleas, according to verse 20-21 of our main text. When you err, go back to your Father; he cares and loves you so much. 

The older son had even a higher level of slavish mentality, and consulted another servant of why there was a feast (verse 26). He forgot his place in his dad and the right to ask freely, and so instead sought explanation from another slave. Eagles fly with eagles, not with chickens. This son, because of a slavish mentality, felt he could relate with other servants. As a son, do not discuss issues of the kingdom with the slaves/ servants. Go to your Papa, not to the slaves, regarding the issues of the house. 

In those days slaves could not go in the house during feasts, so the older brother, with a slavish mentality, refused to go in the father's house, because of his anger. As a son, celebrate with others, during their times of uplifting; they will celebrate with you when your time comes. 

According to verse 29, we see the older brother exhibiting his slavish mentality further by thinking that he was serving the father, by working. Sons do not serve the father, they work for the glory of the family without expecting any reward or returns. Servants/ slaves serve and expect returns as they know they do not belong to the family, while sons offer service in their family joyfully since all the father has is theirs, and whatever they do is in the interest of the family. For the sons, it is not about what they get back, as after all everything is already theirs (verse 31). Many sons and daughters today serve in church thinking they are doing it for the pastor or for so and so, as servants. We are sons and daughters, who serve God and participate in church activities for the purpose of building the house and family, not for any other reason. 

This slavish mentality caused the older brother to refer to his brother as "this son of yours" (verse 30), separating himself from the family. He saw himself as a slave/ servant, and the younger son as the son. The slavish mentality caused him to alienate himself from the family circle. 

IT is slavish mentality to think we are living because of dos and don'ts, for the law, as the older brother thought (verse 29), by saying that he had been obeying his father's commandments and never transgressed any of them. We do not live according to the law, as we have been saved by grace, not by works. 

This older son was offended that the younger one was celebrated yet he had wasted himself, but his father's assurance was, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.' (verse 31). It was a great privilege that the older son had never messed up, which is why all inheritance was labelled his, but the guy could not understand that he had it all. How much do we envy those who wasted the gift of God by running away from our Father, and allow the mind to deceive us that we are at a loss while in the real sense all our Father's property is ours! 

This slavish mentality further caused the older son to live as if he did not have anything, which is why the father told him that all he had was his (verse 31). 

Know yourself; understand yourself. You are a son in the kingdom. You should not behave or stand as a slave. We should cherish/ understand each other, and fellowship with our Father. 

Be a son with a son mentality. All the Father has is yours!

Amen. 

-- Pastor Karani Kaugi

(21/06/13 Kesha Service Sermon, Africa Transformation Mission. Pramukh Plaza, 6th Floor) 

Pastor Karani Kaugi is a pastor at Africa Transformation Mission, a ministry under Christ Harvesters Ministries.