Swine Mud Pie

Wealth and privilege can get you far—fast! Money opens doors faster than any key ever could. Wealth in the wrong hands is an unmitigated disaster. You only have to look at recent lottery winners and how their lives have been twisted and tortured to see what money does to people. Don’t get the wrong impression, children of the rich have their own special problems. Athletes who sign multi-million dollar deals are constantly in the news for some misbehavior or other. Poor people have the same problems, but how often does the six o’clock news report on a homeless person with a cocaine habit while trashing a five star hotel, wrapping that Porsche around a tree or wrangles themselves out of a serious legal jam? The Bible has plenty to say about money, almost none is good. Trouble follows money like a shadow.

The Gospel of Luke records the story of the prodigal son. You remember the story, a man had two sons and the younger of the two asked his father for his share of the estate right then. The father divided up the estate and gave the younger son his portion. The young man went off to a distant country and squandered his wealth in wild living (Luke 15). After he spent everything, the country he lived in experienced a severe famine and suddenly he found himself destitute and in dire need. He hired himself out to a farmer who put him to work feeding a herd of pigs. Times were hard, no one gave him anything. Life was tough and the work was filthy. He wanted to eat the food he was feeding the pigs! He realized at that moment, the pigs had it better than he did!

He was hired out to feed dirty filthy pigs. That was probably the lowest possible humiliation for a Jew. When his money ran out, so did his friends. No more wealth and privileges, no more nice meals, no more nice accommodations, no more of the “good life”. Realizing his position as the head concierge at the swine spa, he quickly remembered his father’s servants and how good they had it compared to his miserable state of affairs. The Bible reports he came to his senses and returned home hoping to be treated like one of his father’s servants. Poverty and hunger can focus our attention on what’s important. Why wait, the Father needs servants now. It’s an honor to be His servant.

“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the servant who serves me.” John 12:26