In Luke's Gospel, the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father is a remarkable man. The parable could be renamed the Forgiving Father. The poor father finds a way to deal with two miserable sons. It never seems to faze him how incredibility selfish both of his sons are. Both sons are dealing with some pretty serious issues. The transgressions of the younger son are obvious. Where as, the transgressions of the older son are far more menacing. .
Upon hearing of his brother's return the older one immediately wants to cast him out and not speak to him. He seems to be harboring a large amount of anger and resentment towards his brother. He seems to feel that he knows exactly how all the inheritance was spent. At no point in the story does the younger son discuss what he has been doing with his time or money since his departure with his brother. How does he know that his brother did not come back with all the money? The older bother has obviously spent a fair amount of time thinking about what he himself would do with his share of the money. Harboring these thoughts has created a deep felt jealousy of the brother ability to control his life enough to get up and go. Throughout the entire story all he seems to care about is himself. He is serving his father only for what he would get in the end. In essence he says " I follow your orders not because I love you or because it's the right thing to do but because I will receive a special reward for my loyalty.".
The younger son in essence says to his father "Your going to die someday so give me what I will get when you die, right now." He is so wrapped up in what he wants to do for himself that he finds himself completely lost in his own web of destruction. Each son is focusing on their own wants and needs.
The father loves these two jerks because he loves them. Even when they are the most vile he still loves and accepts them. To the father it is not about the things or the money.