To Tradition Or Not To Tradition And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:6-8 ESV) Traditions can be good things. They can often remind us of where we came from or help us to focus on Jesus during our church services. Unfortunately, they can also be a great cause of trouble and turmoil in the church. Churches have split because one group won’t let go of a tradition, while the other sees no need for it. Why do churches split over traditions? It happens when we hold a tradition as a commandment from God that cannot be changed. Jesus was responding to the Pharisees who looked at him as a bad person because he was breaking their traditions. Their traditions seemed good and were meant to honor God. But, they judged people by how well they kept the traditions and not how much they loved God. As we hold on to our traditions above anything else, we are not honoring God with our hearts. We are in reality honoring him with just our lips. Are there things you are judging others by that are not commandments of God? It might be what people wear to church, the version of Bible that is taught from, or maybe the music a church plays. Remember that traditions can take many different forms in our lives and our churches. Focus on what Jesus has called you to do and not what a tradition calls you to do.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Jun 2014 12:30:01 +0000
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