The Journey of the ProdigalShembull

New People, Places and Things

Luke 15:13 -  “...and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”

I always say, “People who don’t earn it don’t know how to manage it,” but this was worse. In verse thirty, the prodigal son’s brother accuses him of spending his money on prostitutes (sex addiction). However, “wild living” may involve any number of things: alcohol, drugs, gambling, extravagant clothes, houses, spending/debt addiction, and more. Whatever it was, the prodigal son had received a lot of money—not just a few thousand dollars—and he had squandered it all. He could have started a business, married a woman, and had a life. Instead, he used people as things and became friends with like-minded people, and those relationships led him further and further into reinforcing a self-abounding lifestyle, regardless of his specific behavior.

Whatever your addictive behavior was, you probably met new people like bartenders, drug dealers, other addicts, sex partners, and people with a similar desire to engage in that behavior. While with them, you thought they cared, “got” you, or understood you best. You believed you could depend on them. You thought that seemed true, as long as you were paying and giving yourself away to them in some manner. 

The relationships you build while in an active addiction positively reinforce your behavior. You surround yourself with people who encourage you in your addictive behavior so you not only feel positive reinforcement for your drug or person of choice, but you create a dark cocoon that a sober mind would recognize as being wild, reckless, and thoughtless.