The most the son had hoped for was to become a ‘hired man,’ someone really not a member of the household and in some respects worse off than a slave.

Your sincere consideration of this material, rather than having contempt for it, indicates that you still have some love for spiritual things. The fact that you feel guilty and disturbed at heart shows that you have not gone too far. Be assured that Jehovah will answer your prayerful request just as he answered that of David, who pleaded: “Forgive my error, for it is considerable.”​—Psalm 25:11.