In the story of the Prodigal Son, are you the younger son or the older son?  Chris Brannon continues in our Parables series with the the parable of the Prodigal Son.    He shows us how the younger son demanded his inheritance, left, spent all the money and came to his senses to come back to his father.  For the younger son, bad decisions led to more bad decisions, leaving him taking a job feeding pigs and wishing he could eat as they did.  Then he came to his senses and had an awakening!  He went back to his father in repentance.  His father took him in and ordered a feast for him!

The older son wanted nothing to do with the celebration.  He represents all those right-thinking, right-living, rule-keepers who want to see repentant sinners publicly punished to teach them a lesson.  Just as the prodigal son still lives today, so does the unhappy older brother.

Chris gives us four marks of self-righteousness.  The first is a sense of being treated unfairly.  The older son felt like he was ignored or forgotten.  This feeling of unfair treatment is always the initial mark of a self-centered attitude.  The next one is a sense of entitlement that comes with good behavior.  That attitude of “if anybody deserves to be treated well by you, it’s me!”  Another one is an over-inflated view of self.  Notice how the older brother describes his own superiority and advantages.  Self-righteousness is always full of self-praise.  The last one is his blame of his father and his contempt for his brother.

Where are you today?  Which brother most represents you?  Do you need to turn around and head back home?  Are you already home and need to come into the party?