Leadership Echo: Prodigal 5 - Farmer Digsley: Tough Love in Scarcity

There are echoes of Hebrews 12:11 in leadership that holds the hard line with compassion.

The Prodigal named Sonny was so hungry he wanted to eat some of the pigs’ food he was hired to feed them. But Farmer Digsley refused. Not out of cruelty, but from tough love. In his mind, the logic was simple: you need fat pigs for bacon, and if the pigs starve, the farm business suffers.

That answer stung in the moment, but it carried wisdom. Leadership isn’t always about a yes with sympathy; it’s about stewarding what’s been entrusted to you, even when that means saying no. As Hebrews 12:11 reminds us, “No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” True compassion doesn’t always look like comfort; sometimes it looks like discipline that pushes someone toward growth.

Farmer Digsley gave Sonny dignity through work, not handouts. And though Sonny left hungry, that hunger drove him toward clarity and eventually, back home. Leaders who hold the hard line with quiet wisdom create space for others to become who they’re meant to be.

Take time to reflect this week: Where might God be asking you to show tough love that will bear fruit later, even if it feels hard now?

When have you experienced a leader’s “no” that turned out to be the most loving decision for your growth?