“And Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’”

Luke 15:11-12a

It’s no secret that sin has become a “four-letter word” in our culture today. Sin has turned into the ultimate taboo in our society. You could say that the forbidden fruit of our time is claiming that there even is such a thing as forbidden fruit. Many in our modern world will tell you that sin is nothing but a Stone Age concept, the old-fashioned remains of a primitive time. Or we might hear the idea that sin is simply a religious or social construct introduced as a power-play to keep others in line.

And yet, Jesus (the person that even many non-Christians acknowledge to be a great spiritual teacher) had much say about this whole sin thing. In fact, he shows us in his classic story of The Prodigal Son, that if you want to understand yourself, if you want to discover your most authentic self and experience lasting transformation, then you need to come to terms with the reality and dynamics of sin.

The first part of Jesus’ story vividly portrays the story of sin, of your sin and my sin. But in order to understand the true anatomy of sin, you and I must see it in light of the fact that each of us are the created offspring of a personal God. How does the Bible begin? “In the beginning God created…”(Genesis 1:1). The existence of a personal Creator God and our daily dependence upon this God is the starting point for the Christian worldview. And incidentally, it is technically the starting point of this beloved story.

A World Without God

We first meet the dad in the story before we meet the kids. This brief relational ordering is an important detail because the father exists independent of the sons and the sons did not come into being independent of the father. In the same way, the God of Christianity is independent of us and we are completely dependent upon Him. It’s like God says to each of us, “I’m here whether you like it or not, and you need me for everything.” Every single day, you and I walk on the tightrope of God’s moment-by-moment sustaining grace.

Yet, what type of world does the son wish to be in? A world without a tightrope. A life without the father. This can be seen in the request that he makes. By asking for his inheritance early, he basically wants his dad out of the picture. His request expresses his desire to live in a world where his father doesn’t exist. Here’s how middle-eastern scholar and author Kenneth Bailey breaks down the cultural background to a request like this:

“Such a request in a Middle Eastern village society would mean only one thing the younger son is impatient for his father‘s death. Again and again across the middle east I’ve engaged in some form of this conversation: has anyone ever made such a request in your village – never – could anyone ever make such a request – impossible – if anyone ever did what would happen -his father would become very angry and refuse – why? — this request would mean he wants his father to die.” 

A Death-Wish Towards God

By asking for his cut of the inheritance early, this kid has the audacity to basically look his dad in the eye and say, “Let’s play pretend. Let’s make believe you’re dead and I get to do my own thing. Sound good?” We can tend to think of sin as just doing bad stuff, but Jesus is dropping some profound truths in this parable. He’s teaching us that sin is much more complex than that. Do you see what Jesus is doing? He’s teaching us that sin is a kind of death-wish towards God. Sin is wishing that God would just disappear so we can live it up without any consequences. Sin is resisting the living reality of God in your heart and then living your life in accordance with that lie.

Did you catch the irony and ridiculous aspect of this? The younger son is fully aware that his father is alive and kicking, but he wants to imagine that that’s not the case. He refuses to recognize reality. This is the very definition of madness, insanity, and absurdity—a disordered state of mind that impedes you from living consistent with reality. Picture this: Hamlet adamantly claiming that there is no such thing as Shakespeare and striving to live a Shakespeare-free life. It’s immediately clear how nonsensical that sounds. We know it can’t happen. The character is dependent upon his author.

And yet, this is exactly how the Bible describes the default state of the human heart. “The fool says in his heart there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). Note that the fool has to deceive himself. The fool has to tell himself and convince himself that there is no God. It’s the fool who wants to live in a world of make believe. This is the essence of sin. Even though deep down we know there’s a God, we suppress this truth in unrighteousness (c.f. Romans 1:18). Like this younger son, fallen humanity has turned its back on God by internally resisting the reality of God.

The Temptation to Practical Atheism

But here’s the thing—you and I don’t have to consider ourselves formal atheists or agnostics to do what this younger son did. C.H. Spurgeon, the great London preacher, once asked his congregation…

“Let me ask you, how many atheists are now in this house? Perhaps not a single one of you would accept the title, and yet, if you live from Monday morning to Saturday night in the same way as you would live if there were no God, you are practical atheists.” 

You see, formal atheism resists the general idea of God in the universe, but practical atheism is like whispering to yourself, “God who?” and playing make believe in the 101 corners of your everyday life. Sure you may keep up the externals of religion (going to church, saying your prayers, being in vocational ministry, etc.), but deep down, it’s like you’ve got selective amnesia when it comes to God’s commands and wisdom.

So, let’s be honest with ourselves: where are we pulling a classic younger son move? How are we treating God like he’s gone MIA? In what ways are we pretending God’s on an extended vacation? In what area of our lives are we hoping God didn’t get the invite? Where are we giving God the silent treatment and carrying on like He’s nowhere to be found? Let’s come to our senses, stop playing this absurd game of make believe when it comes to God, and let’s acknowledge the tightrope of His grace that holds us up, each and every day.