[The Love Of God] The Prodigal Son Sample

The Grass Is Greener

The prodigal son chose his own plan instead of choosing his father’s plan for his life. His older brother, in contrast, always followed his father’s plan to work and take care of things at home. Maybe the prodigal son thought that the grass was greener somewhere else, outside of what he was used to—far from his father’s plans. 

We can all look at somebody else’s life and think, “I wish I had their car. I wish I had their house. I wish I had their life. I wish I had their job. I wish I had their spouse. I wish I had their kids. I wish I had their gifts. The grass is greener. If I only had that, then I would not have this, and I would not feel like this.”

We think that the grass is greener on the other side. That is probably what the prodigal son thought. “All this stuff that I have with my father, if I were to go to a distant country…” But this distant country is a mirage. It is the mirage of thinking, “If I only had that job. If I only looked like that. If only I had that notoriety, that fame. If I only had that kind of money. If I had all of those things, then I would finally be satisfied.”

John D. Rockefeller was once asked how much money it takes to make a person happy. He said: “A dollar more.” We always want this mirage of going out to greener pastures. We do not realize that life is life, that things may get hard sometimes, and that, truly, the grass is not greener. We do not have to go to a distant country. We always want more, but sometimes we have more than enough, and we are not able to see it.

God always gives us what we need, He is always taking good care of us and has the best plans for our lives. He knows what we need and when we need it. He also knows what other people need and when they need it. What someone else has may be great for him or her, but it is not what is best for us.

Thought of the Day: May we always be grateful for what we have, knowing that whatever we have was given by God. He knows what we need before we even realize that we need it.