The Prodigal God

Last month I had two different people tell me that I need to read The Prodigal God by Tim Keller. One of them actually borrowed me the book and so I read it this past weekend at Starbucks. It is a short read and one that could definitely be completed in a single sitting. But reading a book and internalizing the content of a book are two totally separate issues. The latter is much more difficult than the former.

The value of The Prodigal God is that it offers readers much to be internalized. While Keller certainly spends time exploring the relationship between the younger son and the father, he spends the bulk of his time looking at the older son--an important individual in the parable that Keller believes has often been neglected. Keller masterfully outlines the stubbornness and self-centered nature of the older brother. And he challenges readers--especially devoted Christians--to identify with him. After all, the older son was clearly the more religious and obedient of the two. As Keller explores the motivations of the older brother, one can't help but explore one's own motivations. Herein is where I found this book to be quite convicting. Given such positive feedback, allow me to push back by simply raising a few questions.

(1) My first area of push back concerns Keller's emphasis on the older son's reason for being obedient to father. Keller suggests that the older son's obedience was largely driven out of self-interest--namely, he was obedient to his father because he wanted his father's inheritance. The older son was not obedient simply because he loved his father, but rather, he was money hungry just like the younger son. Now this may be true. And perhaps this is a good corrective. But my question is why didn't Keller deal with the younger son on this issue as well? Follow me here. It is clear that the younger son originally asked for his inheritance our of greed. But did the younger son really return out of love for his father? I don't see how one could answer yes based on the narrative. In the narrative, the son decides to return home when he considers that he could be fed better as a servant in his father's home than in his current environment. In other words, even the younger son's return was driven by self-interest given Keller's criteria.

(2) My second area of push back concerns Keller's opposition to fear-driven morality. Keller argues rather extensively that a morality driven by fear misses the mark because it is ultimately driven out of self-concern--that is to say, it is driven out one's own concern to avoid certain negative consequences. The ideal, Keller, proposes, would be to pursue morality solely out of love for God and others. And perhaps this is very a pure motivation for morality. But my question is what do we do with the numerous Scripture passages where God puts before someone the way of life and the way of death based on obedience or disobedience? It seems to me that God often encourages people to be obedient based on the results of their behavior.

Anyways, just some food for thought. The Prodigal God is well worth the read.