I'm the Older Brother

When it comes to President Obama's stimulus package and its provisions to help those Americans who are having great difficulty paying their home mortgages, I have come to realize that I'm like the older brother in the story of the Prodigal Son.

As you probably recall, Jesus tells about a younger brother who takes half of his father's wealth and spends it irresponsibly in a "far-off country." Finding himself impoverished, he takes a job feeding pigs (and you know how the ancient Jews would have reacted to even getting near pigs). He becomes so hungry that he actually wishes that he could eat some of the slop that the pigs were eating. In dire straits, this younger brother decides to return to his home and ask for a job on his father's farm. But, as the Bible says, "While he is still a long way off," his father sees him, runs out to meet him, welcomes this wayward son back into the family fold, and invites him to share in bounty of family fortune.

Then there's the older brother! Jesus tells how this older brother is filled with resentment, and complains that he had worked hard on his father's farm for many years, and now, the money that he had helped earn for his father was being spent on this younger brother who had wasted the family's wealth. We can almost hear him saying, "This brother of mine was irresponsible in the way he lived and spent his money, so why should he now get the benefits of money that I helped earn through my hard work, day in and day out?"

That, I am sad to say, is much the same attitude that I, along with most of my conservative evangelical brothers and sisters, have had in reaction to President Obama's announcement that taxpayers' dollars, earned by hard-working, responsible citizens, would be given to help those irresponsible Americans who bought houses that they couldn't afford, while embracing a lifestyle that was beyond their means. With resentment, I, along with most of my rugged individualistic Christian friends, now sound like that older brother in Jesus' story, and call for those irresponsible spenders to get what they deserve. With an air of self-righteous indignation, we declare, "They didn't do what's right and now we're being asked to rescue them from the financial mess that they've created for themselves!"

The Gospel is about grace and we all know that grace is about us receiving from God blessings that we don't deserve. But now, I, having received grace, find that my voice is blending in with a host of other older brother types who are reluctant to grant grace to those desperate home-buyers who were seduced into lavish living they could ill afford.

I've got some repenting to do. I doubt, however, that those who have wedded Christianity with laissez-faire capitalism will see things this way. I can just hear them saying, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Comments

[Kelly Carlin-McCall - Huffpost Blogger]

Tony,
I see some soul searching here. Bravo for that. It is hard to look at our own darkness.

And, living here in America, I think that we all need to take some responsibility in this nightmare that has been created. We all have greed in our hearts, we all want more than we can afford, we all want to believe that some things are too good and true. Now, not all act on these feelings, and I commend those who do not.

I would ask those who have figured out how not to act on these urges to teach us all how to fill ourselves up with things that do not demand more credit and extending ourselves beyond our means. Reach out to your fellow citizens and feel compassion, and partner with them to build a real future.

Grace comes with compassionate action.

[Halsey]

"With resentment, I, along with most of my rugged individualistic Christian friends, now sound like that older brother in Jesus' story, and call for those irresponsible spenders to get what they deserve. With an air of self-righteous indignation, we declare, "They didn't do what's right and now we're being asked to rescue them from the financial mess that they've created for themselves!"

The Gospel is about grace an....."

I read your post twice...ma­ybe I need to read again as what I interpret is internal conflict with the very words, you as an evangelica take as black and white....n­o allegories. Ergo, help me..do you doubt Jesus' lesso/teaching in this....ar­e you working on you own (and understandable) resentment­...what? This is a sincere question.

for me...sure I resent "financial idiots"...­but don't claim Evangelical beliefs. I deplore fiscal abuse...ye­t, frankly would rather 9 "welfare abusing parents"..­.taking MY tax dollars..i­f the 10th...ens­ures her/his child gets medical care and a decent education. I will wait for a response before shouting hypocrite.­..as perhaps I've misinterpreted the 'message''­..

Tony..this is an earnest inquiry... te toca a ti'

[JohnFromCensornati]

Of course, not all of the people who will receive help are "irresponsible spenders". Some are unlucky and some are just not very bright and caught up in the American Dream that is shoved down their throats in every way.
None of that describes me. I won't be getting any help and I live within my means, so I don't need any. I could be the older brother, but I'm not. I understand the greater good and I don't need an Imaginary Friend to explain it to me.
It will be mostly believers who ask "Am I my brother's keeper?". That's one of the great things about religion. The Word of god is flexible and contradictory. You can usually find whatever you're looking for in there.

[hominidx]

Thanks for dragging dickery into this.

[JohnFromCensornati]

Backatya.

[blaqntelligence]

What an awesome juxtaposing of the struggle each day to live as God would have us and the stuff we must struggle through.

adrogyny29, I must remember this:
Grace= God's Righteous At Christ's Expense.
Thank you!

[androgyny29]

amen! Come Home to the Grace! Thanx brother Tony for another awesome post. GRACE = Gods Righteousness At Christ Expence!

androgyny29

[Gina Bogna]

but wasn't the grace given after the prodigal son repented?

[hominidx]

It takes two to display grace.

[hominidx]

Um, wow. This is really a sort of staggering comparison. Thank you, Tony.