Proverbs 14:12, “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Have you ever wondered about this scripture? I have. King Solomon was and is known as the wisest man on earth. God gave Solomon tremendous wisdom to rule the nation of Israel. Obviously that wisdom carried over into life in other cultures. His fame was widespread and heads of state from other countries came to sit under the wisdom under this man. But I digress.

As I was thinking about this scripture, the picture of the story of the prodigal son came to mind. There were two brothers in that parable, the prodigal son and the elder brother. The path that the prodigal took initially is the obvious wrong path. Many commentaries and expositions dwell on the pitfalls of wasting a life on self-indulged living, squandering one's wealth and inheritance. That is an important story to hear and teaches us many good lessons. But the story of the elder son is the one that we should learn from also.

In the dialogue between the father and this elder son, we see an attitude of jealousy and greed. He was the heir of all that the father had. His only responsibility was to be faithful to the father to do his will and all was his. But he got all out of joint because the prodigal came home and was given such a great feast. He couldn't see the forest for the trees.

As Christian individuals we are influenced by two kinds of love. One kind is a love that is centered in the Father. A love that has no agenda other than to give all that he has without ever expecting anything in return. In other words a love without any hooks. The other type of love is based in self gain, giving one's love in an agenda of getting something in return. In the Greek, this word is "eros." The picture of this word as depicted in Greek writings is one of a snake eating its own tail, which will eventually cause it to consume itself.

Both of these brothers had love for their father. The younger brother probably understood that his older brother was going to inherit all that his father had and he would be subservient to him. It was the custom in Israel in biblical times that the eldest son would receive the father's blessing. The younger brothers, whereas they would have an inheritance, would be under the leadership of the oldest brother. I can see the wheels turning in the prodigal's mind. "I'll get my father to give me what I've got coming to me and I'm get out from under my older brother. There is no way I want to live the rest of my life being told by him what I can do and what I can't. I'm going to make my own way. I'll show father how it should be done. Just because he's older doesn't mean that he knows what best to do." I know that you've known men just like this. I know I have. Well, along the way to his destruction, the prodigal came to his senses and came home. That's the obvious lesson of the parable.

The elder brother was just as eaten up with eros as the prodigal was. The only difference is that he stayed home because he knew if he just hung around it would be all his. He had an agenda all of his own. He didn't serve his father out of an attitude of love, love that was the God kind of love. That love in the Greek language is "agape'." This is the love that has no hooks in it. The total purpose of those that exhibit agape' love is to give solely for the purpose of giving. There is no thought of what could be received in return for their giving. This elder brother loved his father only because of what he was going to get when the father passed away. This is the way that seemed to be the right way, but its end is death.

If we serve the Father because of what He can give us in return, there will be nothing laid up for us in heaven. We will receive reward only here on earth. However, if our intention is only to do the will of the Father without any thought of what we could receive in return, the Father tells us that no only will we receive reward in this life, but also in the life to come. The elder son, was upset because he didn't have a party thrown for him like the one the prodigal got. He couldn't see beyond his own nose. His love had all kinds of hooks attached. The interesting thing is that the prodigal came back with the understanding that even if he had to live as a servant in his father's house he was satisfied to do so. Now he had no hooks. He knew that he had already blown his inheritance and had nothing else coming. He still came back to serve.

All of us have two paths that we can follow as a Christian. We are wooed by the television evangelists that promise the hundred-fold return if we would serve their ministries by supporting them financially. They appeal to the eros nature in us the give so that we can receive. Not all public ministries are like this, unfortunately there is a percentage out there that gives the rest a bad name. I want you to understand that kind of ministry is not the pattern that we see in the Bible. The evangelist is supposed to be under the accountability of the local church and submitted to the local church when they come into a town to win souls. The men on the TV are trying to build their own ministries. They basically have established a mobile church. The bad news is that if you become a member of that church, you will not have a pastor that will come to you home when you need him to pray with you and wipe your tears away. The only thing that TV pastor wants from you is money to keep him on the air, or promote a book that he has written. He has hooks.

The path that the Father desires for us is one that will give us an eternal reward. When we can give to the kingdom without expecting any return, we are walking in the will of the Father. The Father is looking for servants. Servants have no other agenda than to please the Master. Bob Dillan had it right in his song, "You Got to Serve Somebody." We are made to serve, but the Father is looking for servants that will serve of their own free will. The father of the elder son was looking for free will service from him. What he received was a servant that had an agenda to outlast the old man to get what was coming to him.

Make it your goal to serve the Lord out of your agape' love for Him. Don't look for a return. Do your service for your reward to be laid up in heaven. That's where it will do the most good. This life in years in a mere drop in the bucket compared to eternity. Oh, by the way, when you give out of an agape' heart, you will receive reward in this life too, but please understand that what you receive in this life is not for your consumption only. God expects the blessings that He give to you to be given to those that are in need. That's why he prospers us.

Stay tuned. There will be more!