Resentment

April 08, 2019

Rev. Jason Gaskin

This week we will be retelling the story of the Prodigal son with the spotlight shining on the elder son. The elder son wasn't excited about his younger son's return. He was resentful. He thought that his father was being unfair. It was unfair that his younger brother who threw away all his inheritance money in a foreign country in dissolute living could come home to a party where he was lavished by his father. It didn't seem fair. Many of us have had our share of moments where we felt we were treated unfairly. Some of us more than others. And those moments of unfairness can turn into years of bitterness, anger, and resentment. Just like the elder son many of us don't realize the cost that resentment brings about in our lives. When we become resentful it paralyzes our ability to see the vastness of God's love and providence at work. The elder son couldn't see nor comprehend how deep the father's love was for his brother. Nor could he see the father's providence in his own life that unlike his brother he was always with his father. Resentment can set in at any stage of life. The root of resentment can so often be in an unspoken belief that God loves others more than us. And it is hard to imagine that God's love is big enough for everyone. And so often we limit the fullness of God's love for us. And this keeps us from seeing and witnessing the beautiful work that was taking place in the younger brothers life, "this brother of yours was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found."