"Well This Isn't Good Enough"
- epumc1
- Mar 30
- 7 min read
As Jesus tells the third of three parables in Luke 15 about “lostness” he sets the story in a family with many things working against it — in other words, a family like many others. In this imaginary family there is a clash of what’s right and wrong, of what’s good, or bad, enough. And we are brought once again into the beautiful love that is God. And we are reminded that God’s love is directed to us, not because we are good, or bad, but because of God’s incredible grace.
“That’s good enough. Let’s call it a day and go home,” said someone (or, said thousands of people) at the end of their shifts.
“Good enough” is a concept with a wide variety of uses and a wide variety of views on whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing.
The website “reddit.com” has online conversations about almost anything, including the topic, “good enough.” In that conversation, one person wrote, “I’m finding myself paralyzed by doubt right now with my writing. I have two really good concepts that I think have incredible potential ... I just don’t think I’m good enough to bring out the best in them. I feel like if I try to write them, I’ll just screw it up and what could have been a great story will just be a mess because I wasn’t good enough.”
Another person responded, “You aren’t good enough. There, I settled it for you. Now go and write them anyway. That’s how you become good enough. No one is ‘good enough’ when they start something.”1
Another way to look at “good enough” is this, from writer Jim Babb: “Good Enough has become an insult. It’s a half-hearted acknowledgement that, well, you tried, but you weren’t good, and you were barely enough.”2
Surprisingly perhaps, the “good enough” idea can be applied to Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son. So, today we’re going to look at it with the “good enough” idea lending some insights along the way.
Parable of a man with two sons: The younger son
The Prodigal Son parable is one of the three parables Jesus told in succession in Luke 15, and all three are about lost things: a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. They are masterful stories. A careful reading of this chapter can yield an appreciation for Jesus’ story telling abilities, and a new appreciation of God’s love and grace. We may also find ourselves identifying with lost things.
“There was a man who had two sons ...” This wouldn’t be a story if there was only one son. In homes where there’s more than one child, it’s often evident they will not always get along. From the very first family in the Garden of Eden, to now, it’s true. It was certainly true in this parable.
The younger son had been trying to meet his father’s expectations for a long time. No doubt he looked at his older brother and tried to measure up, to be good enough, like his brother was. Perhaps at some point he realized he was never going to be all that, and so he began to “check out.” Perhaps he was hungry for recognition and feeling special.
At some point he realized that when his father died, he was going to inherit a sizable chunk of his father’s estate. But why wait? So, he devised a plan, ugly though it was, to get it now. The only drawback was it would break his father’s heart. But “Oh well.”
He went to his father and said, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” It’s easy to see what the son was thinking: Father, you’re going to be around for too long, and I don’t want to wait, so give me my inheritance now.
You can imagine how the father felt, but he granted this request and divided up his property. And clearly the father’s reservations were valid. Just a few days later the younger son went to a “distant region.” And in that region, when his newfound wealth had been squandered in “dissolute living,” he found himself in a situation where he clearly was not good enough for hardly anything. Reduced to feeding pigs in this distant land, he “came to his senses” and remembered the life he left.
At his father’s house the hired hands were far better off than he was now. Knowing he would never be good enough to be restored to the family, he instead headed home to acknowledge his sins against both heaven and his father and beg for the chance to live as one of the hired hands.
Parable of a man with two sons: The father
“But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.” Amazing! Before the son could ask for forgiveness, his father’s love was already in overdrive! And when the son did get to confess and ask for forgiveness, his father was already beyond that. Whether the son had been bad enough to be kicked out of the family, or whether his plea for forgiveness was good enough for the father, the fact is that neither “bad enough” nor “good enough” compared with the father’s love and compassion and grace.
A celebration! That’s what was needed, the father decided. He instructed his servants to bring out all the good stuff — a fatted calf and the best wine, and a robe, ring and sandals — and to not hold back. Then he said, “... for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!”
Parable of a man with two sons: The elder son
Of the three men in this family, the eldest son may be the easiest to understand. He had never left home for riotous living in a far-off land. He had responsibilities, and he did them. The father could count on him. But some recognition would be nice. He deserved it! He was the “good son” and did everything his father asked of him. Maybe not with gusto, but everything he did was good enough. It would be hard for the father to find fault with him!
Yet there’d never been a celebration for him.
And now an all-out celebration for his worthless brother who certainly was not worth it. What was the big deal?
The elder son said to his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!”
The father responded, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours ....”
“But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”
We might wish we had more of the conversation? We can imagine the older son saying, “Yes, I know that all you have is mine, but it’s not enough! Why can’t you be happy around me, and for me, like you are for my worthless brother? How long since you wrapped your arms around me like you did for him?”
But what we have is enough to show us God’s love.
Is God really like that?
By now perhaps you have put yourself into one of the three “camps” represented by the two sons and the father.
Younger son “campers” can look back on one bad choice with lasting consequences, or perhaps one bad choice after another. They often think their choices have been “bad enough” that there is little hope for life getting better.
Older son “campers” can look back on dutiful adherence to all the rules put before them. Nothing too exciting, but nothing too jarring in their lives. Resentment is a reminder that their life could have been different if they had been willing to “draw” outside the lines. But they have been “good enough” to get by and live a decent life.
In the sense that “prodigal” means “recklessly extravagant”, the father is the real prodigal in this story. It is the father who allows free choice, even when he knows it’s a bad choice. And it is the father who lavishes love and affection, forgiveness and grace when either son returns to accept these great gifts. Since neither son is “good enough” through their own efforts, it is only when they receive grace from the father that they experience the abundance that starts in this life and continues to eternity.
So, what’s next?
We can resolve to make better choices. But our resolve, if it’s rooted only in our good intentions, will certainly waver from time to time. At worst, we will end up never quite “good enough” and maybe “not nearly good enough.”
At best, we will end up, at least in our own estimation and maybe in the estimation of those closest to us, we will end up “good enough,” but we know that deep down inside, we are no such thing.
But God wants us to have exuberant joy. God wants to say of us, “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother, or this sister was dead and has come to life, he (or she) was lost and has been found.”
It’s grace that moves things from “Good enough” to “We have to celebrate”?
2 Jim Babb, “Why Good Enough Is Actually Pretty Great,” Medium, February 27, 2017, https://medium.com/part-and-sum/why-good-enough-is-actually-pretty-great-463f335efe11.
Comments