You can spot the "good" but unhappy sons a mile away. They are seldom happy and they are constantly complaining about something they don’t like!
Do you know anyone like that? They just can’t be happy about what’s going on? Maybe you have found yourself in the shoes of the older brother, who is full of resentment and bitterness.
Second: In addition to their grumbling, they have an inflated sense of goodness.
This can be found in verse 29. He exaggerated his own goodness and he exaggerated his brother’s wickedness. Five times he used the first personal pronoun: “All these years I’VE been slaving for you; I never disobeyed you. You never gave ME a goat so I could celebrate with MY friends!”
And then he goes on to compare himself to his brother. “And this little brat of yours goes off and spends all your money on prostitutes.” We haven't been told in the previous verses that the younger brother visited prostitutes–that’s just what the older brother said. Perhaps because that’s what he would have done! Who know?
But, his aim here is clear. He wants to pain the younger brother, Philip, in as bad a light as possible.
Perhaps. he actually was totally obedient to his father for all those years! In light of his current display, it is hard to imagine that. But in his own mind, when he compared himself to his wicked little brother, he was proud of his goodness.
"I" "me" and "mine" are some of the strongest temptation for a Christian. Our egos don't want us to get left out or overlooked; or not get the proper credit.
This brother was so full of “I” he couldn’t see the repentance and restoration of his brother. He was blinded to anything but his own feelings.
You can block the light of even the mighty sun with something as small as a dime if you hold it close enough to your own eye.
[continued...]
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