When The Blinders Come Off

The para­ble of the Prodi­gal Son has always been my favorite. It is prob­a­bly the most work­able coun­sel­ing story in the Bible. It con­tains all of the really cen­tral life issues: birth order traits, dis­il­lu­sion­ment, grace, healthy bound­aries, appro­pri­ate cel­e­bra­tion, the loss and recov­ery of per­spec­tives, under-conformity ver­sus over-conformity, and much more. On any given day, you can­not study the para­ble with­out see­ing your­self or some­one close to you some­where in it.

Lately I have been taken by our nation as giant Prodi­gal Son. Mas­sive num­bers of peo­ple signed mort­gages well beyond their means. Con­gress has been under the illu­sion (one of many) that fair­ness equals irre­spon­si­bil­ity. Many banks stretched them­selves so thin that there is noth­ing left but a cheap paper real­ity. All across the boards, finance became a shell game of illu­sions. Now the Prodi­gals are feed­ing the pigs of disillusionment.

In the story of the Prodi­gal Son every­one suf­fered. The Father lost a large por­tion of what he had acquired through his life’s work. The younger brother lost his self-esteem. The older brother became a cynic. One day all of the emo­tional and spir­i­tual bills also came due. The bills were not just about how much money the younger brother threw away, but about the painful cost of the illu­sions themselves.

The older brother had the illu­sion that over-conforming would bring pri­vate secu­rity and a spe­cial love from the Father. The younger brother thought his ego alone could take him to grandiose heights. Both suf­fered the mis­eries of dis­il­lu­sion­ment. Only the mature char­ac­ter in the story — the Father — kept per­spec­tive. He had watched the two boys all of their lives. He knew which illu­sions either had pre­ferred. He also knew the illu­sions would run their course. In the end, he had two sons with appro­pri­ate per­spec­tive. That alone would lead to replac­ing all of the losses plus a whole lot more.

Keep your cool. All sorts of peo­ple around you are bounc­ing off the walls from their illu­sions. They are expe­ri­enc­ing every­thing from denial to depression…with some anger tossed in for good mea­sure. Their blind­ers are com­ing off and they are in shock. Be the good parent/citizen in the story. Keep your per­spec­tive. Enjoy what you have and where you are despite your losses. Do not share in the illu­sions of oth­ers. Be the calm soul of reality.