What About Me?
Luke 15:25-32
You have always heard the story of the Prodigal Son and how he:
· Got tired of living at home
· Decided to take his inheritance and leave
· Spent all he had on loose living
· “Came to Himself” – realized what he did
· Went back home to a welcoming father
· A feast was thrown in his honor
At this point in the parable that Jesus is sharing, the scribes and Pharisees felt confident that they had escaped our Lord’s judgment, for He centered His attention on the publicans and sinners, pictured by they prodigal son.
But Christ continued with another story.
*Read Luke 15:25-32
We read of the:
- The Prodigal
- The Father
- The Employer
But what about, the Older Brother!
He was so consumed by his own life that he could care less that his brother came back home.
Let’s commend him:
· For his obedience
· For his hard work
· For not bringing a disgrace to his father
Compared to his younger brother – this guy is a saint!
· He didn’t just pick up and leave
· He didn’t waste his father’s money
· He didn’t bring shame to the family
· He didn’t embarrass his family with his actions
· He hasn’t done anything wrong…until now!
Sometimes we can get so worked up about ourselves that we might even gloat a little when someone close to us has fallen.
· Because they made a mistake – I look better!
· Because of their transgression – My failure doesn’t compare!
· Because of their “mess-ups” – I am now the good child. I am not as bad as they thought!
But during this time of self-promotion, the older brother falls into several traps that we find ourselves in today.
1. Self-Righteous – (verse 30)
He publicly announced the sin of his brother.
When we get in a tight and we are backed against the wall, how easy is it to start pointing out the failures of others?
· I know that I made a mistake but look at what he did?
· I know I mis-figured those numbers but she did it twice last week.
· I know I might have lied a bit about him but he is good for nothing.
If we are not careful, we will fall into sin while trying to put down our fellow brother who has fallen himself.
That’s why God’s word says in Galatians 6:1
“Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you be tempted.”
2. Pride – (verse 29)
Look at what I have done. This shows that he was more worried about himself than his own brother.
(Look at all the “I” in verse 29)
3. Unconcern – (verse 26)
He was told by one of the servants that his brother had come home.
4. Anger –
He was angry with both his father and his brother to the point that he would not go into the house to share in the joy of the homecoming.
He was upset with the father –
Because of the feast “I deserve the party”
He was upset with his brother –
For getting all the attention and getting the gifts
We can get the same way at times:
· God, he doesn’t deserve another chance
· God, why do you bless them – they are new in church
· God, why am I still struggling while you bless them with a better job or more things
I am the one that has been at every church service
I am the one that has always taught Sunday school
I am the one doing most of the work at church
IF anyone deserves a feast, it should be me.
While I could preach on the sins of the older brother, that is not the message today.
I want to take a negative and hopefully get something positive out of it.
- Say what you want about the older brother.
- Talk about his sins that we have discussed
- Talk about his sour attitude
- Talk about his lack of concern for his brother…
And all of this is true!
We have all been the Prodigal son before but we have also played the role of the older brother.
Another message for another time!
But I want to focus on the cry of the older brother.
The cry of older brother is the same cry and that we have in our communities today.
The cry: “What about me?”
And while this cry is being shouted out to us, we can’t hear it because of the hindrances we have put in their way.
I have been faithful – What about me?
I have been working hard – What about me?
I have been tithing – What about me?
But if you will listen closely, you will hear a louder cry…
It’s the same cry: “What about me?”
But it’s not coming from inside the church walls…
I hear:
1. A third grade boy who has not father
· He comes home from school not knowing where his mother is
· A relative or neighbor is caring him for
· Can you hear him? “What about me?”
· I would like to know what its like to have a male figure in my life.
· Can you come spend time with me?
But we can’t hear his cry because we are so concerned about our own blessings from God.
(We could become a big brother/big sister)
2. A single mom. Her husband left her with nothing
· Does anyone care that I am losing my mind?
· Does anyone care that I have nothing else to live for?
· Does anyone care that I have kids who are starving?
· Does anyone care that my life is in shambles?
· Hey, What about me?
o (Offer to keep her kids to give her a break)
o (Carry groceries to this home)
o (Let’s have our food pantry offer a delivery service instead of waiting for them to come to us)
Let’s get out there and find out where this cry is coming from!
I hear the cry of:
3. A 50yr old man who has lost his wife of 25 years
“What about me?” – I have no reason to live?
I am all-alone
Can someone spend time with me?
Do you care that I need a friend?
o Sr. Adults look for ways to include these people
o Let’s get some activities going for this age group
o This is not a job for the young adults
4. A girl who has just turned 12 years old
Hey, What about me?
· I can’t help it that I don’t go to church 0
· My family has never made that a priority
· My parents don’t think its important
· Am I still going to hell when I die? What about me?
· Does anyone care that I am not ready to die?
· Does it bother you that I am not in church?
Our excuses are standing in the way of reaching those who are crying out for help.
· We don’t have a church van
· Can’t afford one
· Don’t have a driver
· Gas cost too much
Our excuses of why we are not doing things to reach our community are sending people straight to hell.
(we have cars that seat 5 and only two people in them)
5. A former member who quit church all together
· You don’t know why I left because you never asked me
· You must not care about me since you haven’t called
· I didn’t leave mad – I left discouraged! Thinking no one cared about me and must have been right because you haven’t stopped by to check on me
· What about Me? Does anyone care?
This was the cry of the older brother of the prodigal son and while we could make light of his cry – we could hear the same cry from our community if we would take time to listen!
But wait, there is another cry… “Hey, what about me?”
o I gave up heaven for you…
o I was born in a manger for you…
o They talked bad about me
o They beat me
o They even went as far as to crucify me and I did it all for you
Can you hear your Savior, Jesus Christ? “What about me?”
In a world where we reward people for their accomplishments:
o Olympic athletes receive gold, silver and bronze medals
o Professional boxers receive championship belts
o We say if you when the Super Bowl, you are the best there is.
o We wear the t-shirts of our favorite team
o We support them by wearing their logos on our hats
But when it comes to honoring our Lord and Savior:
o We crown him with excuses on why we can’t give our time, talents and tithe
o We place on him the honor of fulfilling our list of request for the week
o We adore him by attending only one service per week
o We Thank Him for what He has done in our lives by living like the world Monday – Saturday
Can you hear the cry: WHAT ABOUT ME?
Why are things not happening for us?
Why do times seem to get rough?
Why am I having trouble with bills?
Why is life so difficult?
2nd Chronicles 7:14
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
o We are worried about improving Sunday school space when we need to worry about filling our classrooms with students…
o We are worried about a playground when we need to worry about the kids who are out there that needs a place to play…
o We are worried about former members coming back when we need to worry about a lost and dying world who needs someone from Shipps Baptist Church to tell them about Jesus.
o We are worried about a chime system that will play beautiful music for the neighborhood. It’s not music they need to hear, they need to hear about the love of a Savior who died to give them eternal life.
- We will improve our Sunday school space!
- We will improve our playground
- We will install our chime system
*But let us not get so worried about those things that we forget about the cry…
Stop what you are doing!
Listen for the cry!
See if you don’t hear someone out there saying,
“WHAT ABOUT ME?”
