children lose confidence in the church and the leaders of the church. Where respect for people has been lost there can be no respect for law and order and ethics. Still another reason why children become prodigals is because there is too much materialism in the home. Because of economic pressures quite frequently both mother and father are too busy to take time to pray and to talk to and give advice to the children in the home. Few mothers take the time to read Bible stories to their youngsters. The television has been substituted for the midweek prayer service. In many homes both mother and dad are so engaged in the race for economic security and the securing of nicer furniture, cars, homes and other physical assets that the spiritual needs of the children have been completely ignored and the claims of God upon the life have been entirely devaluated. The parable of the prodigal son as told by Jesus re veals that the father was indulgent to the point of weak ness. The son actually became a prodigal long before he left home. Had his baser passions been subdued under discipline and had his will been brought into submission to the wise and kind will of his father he never would have become a prodigal. The prodigal son described by Jesus is shown as a selfish creature. The theme of his life was “ Give me.” We are part of a spoiled, selfish generation today. Sel fishness is a habit and grows with alarming rapidity when discipline is not applied. Our economic system is built upon human greed and dissatisfaction and envy. Our home economy is founded upon the installment plan rather than upon the “ Buy what you need and pay for it,” a system which was the principle practiced by our forefathers. The prodigal son was foolish. We are told that he wasted his substance in riotous living. He expanded his money, ruined his health and lost his possessions in the gratification of sensual lusts and desires. It is true that the prodigal son returned home and re ceived a loving reception and glorious restoration. But we must never forget that years were wasted, fives blasted and hearts broken unnecessarily for there need never have been a prodigal son. It is my firm personal conviction that eveiy case of juvenile delinquency, of divorce, of marital unfaithful ness, of parental delinquency need never have occurred. A ll these are the normal and to be expected harvest of the sowing of certain evil principles. Our educational system with its stress upon non- scientific hypotheses is undermining the faith of our youth in the Word of God. Our economic system with its stress upon greed, gain and materialism is choking the fife out of essential spiritual emphases. The elimination of old-fashioned Gospel truths from our pulpits and Sunday schools is to blame for sending out into the world a generation with no spiritual foundation and no anchor to hold them firm in the storms of fife. Our substitution of entertainment by way of radio, television, theatre and questionable amusements for rich and satisfying wor ship is certain to produce a baneful harvest in the present and future generations. Put the blame where you will. Upon our educational systems; upon our churches; upon youth itself, but an honest diagnosis of the situation will eventually point the finger to the home. We need godly, consistently liv ing mothers and fathers. We need to have the Bible put back into the home. We need time for family life; time to play and time to pray together. We need a re vival of a vital living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If we solve the problem of the prodigal home we have solved all other problems.
THE PRODIGAL HOME b y C. Leslie M iller
T he A m e r ic a n home is making headlines! But they are headlines of a sordid nature and feature homi cide, juvenile delinquency, divorce, and alcoholism. A problem boy develops into America’s second most notori ous killer who without motive or reason brutally mur ders eleven people. A Hollywood actress discards her fourth husband and sets out again on the sea of matri mony with her fifth mate. Juvenile hoodlums terrorize a New York school and drive a principal to suicide. A father goes berserk and murders his wife and four chil dren. A fourteen year old youngster calmly relates how he pumped bullets into his grandmother’s body “until she stopped quivering.” The story of the American home is becoming the story of prodigal parents and prodigal children. Psychiatrists and pschologists seek to analyze the situation and expain away human depravity. Sin has been labeled impulses and violence has been attributed to frustrations. Prodigal children come from prodigal homes. We have so many prodigal sons and daughters because of the lack of godly examples to be found even in the so- called Christian home. Too many fathers and mothers only preach religion to their children and do not live it. The parents tell the children what they should be but they themselves do not live that way. Our fáthers and mothers send their children to Sunday school but they never take them. They urge their children that THEY need religion, that THEY be good, that THEY read the Bible, yet the parents themselves do not set an example. Another reason why we have so many prodigal chil dren is because of the lack of discipline in the home. The children control the parents instead of the parents governing the children. The youngsters give the orders and say how much spending money they should get, how many evenings they should spend out, and what time they should come home. They establish the laws, the rules and the regulations. And father and mother are so lacking even in common character that they yield to every wish and whim of the demanding child instead of establishing a code of ethics, rules and regulations such as God expects should be established in a Christian home. Some children become prodigals because there is en tirely too much gossip and criticism in the home. Church members, pastors and Sunday school leaders are dis cussed, tom apart, criticised, gossiped about; and thus
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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