He even went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to herd swine.

Luke 15:14-16

Instead, he met a citizen who gave him a job herding swine. Since the Mosaic Law stipulated that pigs were unclean animals, such employment would likely be unacceptable to a Jew. (Leviticus 11:7, 8) But if the prodigal felt any stirrings of conscience, he had to stifle them. After all, he could not expect his employer, a local citizen, to be bothered with the feelings of a down-and-out foreigner. The plight of the prodigal is similar to the experience of many today who abandon the straight path of pure worship. Often, such ones become involved in activities that they previously would have considered degrading. For example, at the age of 17, one young man rebelled against his Christian upbringing. “Immorality and abuse of drugs erased years of Bible-based teachings,” he admits. Soon, this young man found himself in prison for armed robbery and murder. Although he later made a spiritual recovery, what a heavy price he had to pay for “the temporary enjoyment of sin”!—Compare Hebrews 11:24-26.