Luke 15:11-16 NKJV
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.
This famous story has life lessons on so many levels.
Part one is the younger son's selfish craving to throw off all restraint and get what's mine NOW.
In his quest for the pleasure of the moment, he had no thought for consequences - no provision for the future - no thought for the hurt he caused.
Obviously, the connections he made were temporary, based on his extravagance. When He had no more money to spread around those "friends" evaporated like the morning mist.
Again we hear "what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul!"
This guy lost it all and "found himself" feeding pigs - a real slap in the face to a Jewish guy!
Funnily enough sometimes it takes losing everything materially to find ourselves!
In that far country, after living it up, losing it all, no one gave him anything.
This is the law of the world.
Many of the richest people are the most empty - driven by the thirst for more wealth and more power, not knowing it can never satisfy.
They climb a ladder up against the wrong building!
When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus told him:
Luke 4:4 NKJV
But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"
Hopefully none of us will have to lose it all in order to find out that there's no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
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