Spriggles and Giggles

Today is Prodigal Son Sunday. I can see your eyes glazing over already. Not because it's not a good reading but because you'd be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't heard it a million times. But because we have all heard it so many times it's an easy one to write off as well. I guess that's what got me trying to think about it in a different way. Maybe you have already thought of every possible interpretation but here's one that was new to me.

So, I was thinking about the son taking his inheritance and squandering it. I always thought about it very literally as the sons spending all of his fathers money. But today I was thinking about the inheritance as the gifts and talents that God has given us. We all have gifts and talents of some sort whether it's being compassionate, personable, intelligent, wealthy, charismatic, attractive, handy, crafty, a great speaker... the list could go on forever. In light of the story let's say that the son was a wonderful speaker. He could talk anyone into anything. Now, he has the opportunity to use this gift to build up his fathers kingdom OR he can use it for himself. He can use it to evangelize to others and be a great example OR he could also use it instead to gain things only for himself.

So my reflection of the day is this: what are my gifts and what do I do with them. Do I use them in a way that gives back to God or do I use them to glorify myself? Am I squandering my inheritance?