Luke 15:11 Again Yeshua said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that will be mine.’ So the father divided the property between them. 13 As soon as he could convert his share into cash, the younger son left home and went off to a distant country, where he squandered his money in reckless living. 14 But after he had spent it all, a severe famine arose throughout that country, and he began to feel the pinch.
15 “So he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him any.
17 “At last he came to his senses and said, ‘Any number of my father’s hired workers have food to spare; and here I am, starving to death! 18 I’m going to get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers.” ’ 20 So he got up and started back to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him warmly. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son — ’ 22 but his father said to his slaves, ‘Quick, bring out a robe, the best one, and put it on him; and put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet; 23 and bring the calf that has been fattened up, and kill it. Let’s eat and have a celebration! 24 For this son of mine was dead, but now he’s alive again! He was lost, but now he has been found!’ And they began celebrating.
25 “Now his older son was in the field. As he came close to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked, ‘What’s going on?’ 27 The servant told him, ‘Your brother has come back, and your father has slaughtered the calf that was fattened up, because he has gotten him back safe and sound.’ 28 But the older son became angry and refused to go inside.
“So his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 ‘Look,’ the son answered, ‘I have worked for you all these years, and I have never disobeyed your orders. But you have never even given me a young goat, so that I could celebrate with my friends. 30 Yet this son of yours comes, who squandered your property with prostitutes, and for him you slaughter the fattened calf!’ 31 ‘Son, you are always with me,’ said the father, ‘and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead but has come back to life — he was lost but has been found.’”
There are so many different ways to go with this parable. It is rich with so many truths and would take pages and pages to unpack. So we’ll just focus on one small thing that was mentioned.
As soon as he could convert his share into cash, the younger son left home and went off to a distant country, where he squandered his money in reckless living. But after he had spent it all, a severe famine arose throughout that country, and he began to feel the pinch.
This seems to be an extension from the lost coin. But instead of only 10% of your money gone, here it is all gone.
Before that, however, this young son made a hasty decision and the language in this first statement is striking: As soon as he could convert…
Does this not sound exactly like us?
“Not me,” you say, “I’m stingy and quick to never spend money. I’m responsible and hold my cash without blowing it.”
But we haven’t mentioned spending it just yet -- only converting it from wealth to money. Whether you have a closet full of cash or a closet full of stuff, there is no difference. It’s the step before either of these that is being addressed.
A conversion took place. With this son, it was a conversion of property but with us it is a conversion of time.
The most valuable thing you have right now is time. And we are very quick to convert it to anything else. We’ll convert it to money or we’ll convert it to comfort, but rarely do we convert it to wealth.
This one is culturally easy to do. You go to work and trade your time for money. Sure, you get some “fulfillment” or a little power, but if they didn’t give you money you’d be gone in an instant. I haven’t met anyone yet that would willfully endure the stress and aggravation EVERYONE gets with their job without that compensation. In fact, I think we convince ourselves that they are barely paying us enough right now for all we have to endure.
The bottom line is that we trade the one asset we have (time, in supposed abundance) into cash each and every week. Like clockwork (no pun intended), the second hand ticks and more coins fall into our lap. And it is totally worth it, right?
But as each coin drops, so does part of your life. It is unrecoverable. The last minute or so you’ve taken to read this? Gone.
Of course, this isn’t all bad.
Trading time for money is a very predictable process that allows you to take resources from the world system and convert it into the Kingdom system. If we choose to do so.
Money isn’t the only thing we get from our time. We also seek comfort. But converting to comfort is perhaps the worst thing you can do. You aren’t pulling resources from an external source with this trade. You are pulling it from yourself.
We tend to frame this as a way to blow off steam or to clear our heads. Maybe even just to relax.
Most certainly, this is not a complete waste. It’s helpful even. Having a moment to just decompress and not have to think or do can be quite useful.
The issue arises when you trade large blocks of time for an escape from reality. Getting lost in a Netflix binge, losing hours and hours to a video game, or selling yourself to porn or emotional bonds -- these are things that steal your time. No trade. No upside.
I get it that you’ll argue up and down how you are somehow different, and that’s ok. But someday you will look upon the pigs, longing for their provision.
The whole motivation of the Prodigal Son was that he sought a life of comfort in the world. The instant he converted the wealth, he left. An escape. An escape from his reality. An escape from the responsibility he had in his father’s home. No more work, no more chores. That’s what a lazy son seeks, right?
But this isn't just limited to the young whipper-snapper that has no idea how life works. Also sounds like those longing for retirement. For some, retirement can’t come soon enough. As a worker in the world, an ideal life consists of living like the Prodigal Son. All of the time you’ve traded for money has been stored up so you can then convert it to living without any responsibility. This is why assuming your job is your work is so dangerous. You can stop your job, but you are to never stop working. You never stop tending to your part of the Garden. You never stop extending your part of the Kingdom.
You never, ever, ever retire. You only stop working your job, not working your work.
Since most of us aren’t operating from the perspective of having land, the resource Abba has given us is time. The question we all must face is: how are we converting it?
Our Father allows us to dwell with Him as long as we want. But at some point, we decided to run out and do it on our own. Chasing life and squandering our provision. Squandering our time.
We traded it for money and we traded it for comfort. And here we sit wondering where it all went.
There may be occasional blips on the radar of your life that show a meaningful conversion, but we all know that pales in comparison to the conversion to laziness and lifestyle.
Where has all of your time gone?
Where does your time currently go?
How much has passed through your fingers over the course of your life?
If you’re young, you’re likely ramping up that slope of supposedly being on the good side of the trade.
If you're older, you realize that “good” never happens so you start to plan your exit. But an exit into a life like you had when you first started. Net move -- zero. Your habits and life are exactly the same.
But eventually a famine will come.
The Father is waiting for you to return from seeking the world’s pleasure. He’s ready to kill the fatted calf and offer up a huge celebration for your return. (Notice the famine did not affect the Father’s house.)
You do not need to be all the way home in order for Him to embrace you along the path. He just wants you to look at what the pigs are eating and long for the true provision that is offered in your Father’s house.
It’s time to go home.