Now the elder son was out on the farm; and on his way back, as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. . . . But he was angry and refused to go in. Luke 15:25-28, NEB.

Did you know that the point of the prodigal son story is not about the prodigal?

The Jewish leaders didn’t like the tax gatherers and other bad characters crowding in to listen to Jesus, so they criticized, “This fellow . . . welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2, NEB). Jesus answered by telling three stories: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. By portraying the anger and resentment in the elder son’s heart toward his prodigal brother, Jesus revealed the thoughts of the critical Jewish leaders.

You remember the story. As the older son nears home at the end of the day, he hears the merriment and laughter. It surprises him—after all, being a good son is serious business! He asks a servant what’s going on. When he learns about the return and welcome of his younger brother, the writer Luke says he was angry. Furious might be a better word. He must have made his displeasure plain, because the servant goes to tell the father about the problem.

When his father comes out to plead with him to join the party, all the older brother’s jealousy and resentment spills over: “You know how I have slaved for you all these years; I never once disobeyed your orders; and you never gave me so much as a kid, for a feast with my friends. But now that this son of yours turns up, after running through your money with his women, you kill the fatted calf for him” (verses 29, 30, NEB). Notice, it’s not “my brother” but “your son” who has returned.

The older son’s righteous deeds are the most important thing in his life—more important than his relationship to his brother or his father. He is addicted to his righteousness—an obsession called “religious addiction.” He is the victim of compulsions about righteous behavior to earn God’s acceptance, of trying to feel good about self, but unable to achieve joy and peacefulness. In the search for perfection the religious addict tries harder, fails, tries even harder, still fails—and inside the polished exterior shell the rage builds. Then a crisis comes, the person lashes out verbally or physically, and the true addiction stands revealed.

In a way all the addictions of these two sons represent all of us. Some of us cling to unhealthful habits, and others frantically hold
on to righteousness above relationships. Which addict is more typical of you, and why? How can you avoid becoming an addict?

Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.