The Prodigal Son Parable - The Chinese Perspective

Younger, the Prodigal Son

• accept his Father's love but ignore righteousness
• "unconditional love" becomes his license to sin
• The consequences become his teacher for him to realize his sin and the unconditional love gives him the confidence to return to his father.
• Punishment may not lead to repentance.
• Unconditional love does that. Else, the regrets and condemnation will lead to suicide

Older, the Self-righteous Son

• performance-based acceptance
• focus on righteous behavior and ignore his father's unconditional love
• his performance mindset cannot accept "unconditional" love.
• living under such a belief causes one to be:
  • proud - I did it all by myself
  • condemning others
  • anger and jealousy for others' success
  • unforgiving
  • a life of stress and anxiety - within himself, he knows he fails to live up to the righteous standard in some if not many ways.

The Chinese View

• The balance of Love & Righteousness
  • Love has righteousness within
    • Romans 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
    • John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.
  • Righteousness must have love within
    • Romans 7:12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
    • Deuteronomy 28: NIV. If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
    • John 8:11 “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
    • Luke 15:24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
  • Love without righteousness leads to lust
  • Righteousness without love leads to brutality
  • The balance show of love (forgiving) or righteousness (discipline) will depend on the timing, situation, and the person involved

• 从国学的观点看 浪子回头的寓言

  From the perspective of traditional Chinese culture, the allegory of a prodigal son's repentance can be understood as follows:

• 浪子只要父亲的爱而忽略了父亲的义的教导 大哥只是看到父亲的义的教诲而忽略了父亲无条件的爱。 在国学的观点里，爱和义是不可分割的 (阴阳的观念) 爱中有义，义中有爱。 只有爱而没有义会造成溺爱，欲望的放纵。 只有义而没有爱会造成残酷和孽待。 爱与义的表现要依照天时地利和各人的人性。 对有些人要处罚，有些只是警告，有些是饶恕。
• The prodigal son seeks his father's love and disregards his father's teachings on righteousness,
• The elder brother, on the other hand, only sees the father's moral teachings and overlooks the father's unconditional love.
• In the viewpoint of traditional Chinese culture, love and righteousness are inseparable (in the concept of Yin and Yang).
• There is righteousness in love, and there is love in righteousness.
• Having only love without righteousness can lead to indulgence and unrestrained desires.
• Having only righteousness without love can result in cruelty and harsh treatment.
• The manifestation of love and righteousness should be in accordance with the timing, the situation, and the individual's nature.
• For some individuals, punishment may be necessary, for others, a mere warning, and for some, forgiveness is appropriate.

  Lim Liat (c) 2-Oct-23