“Some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!’
“Jesus replied, ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, “Honor your father and mother” and “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.” But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is “devoted to God,” they are not to “honor their father or mother” with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’” Matthew 15:1-9
Jesus, always more concerned with the heart than outward action, with treating others with love rather than twisting words or ticking boxes, exposed the hypocrisy of tradition for tradition’s sake. The Pharisees were known for being persnickety about ceremonial washings, adherence to manmade rules, the show of extraneous customs, specific meaningless habits and verbiage, none of which was dictated by God’s Word or directed by a clean heart. The motive for all worship and practice must be God’s glory, not man’s vainglory.
The trap of tradition is that we get caught up in particular practices and become slaves to checking lists and certain deeds rather than seeking and doing for God’s will. We find a sense of satisfaction and pride in following the imposed, often unfounded ‘rules,’ sometimes having no idea of their source or purpose. Life is full of traditions ingrained, advice we personalize, instructions we simplify, and other people’s recipes we alter to make our own. My list or His is our daily choice, and driven by performance and perfectionism, we easily tend to serving our interests over the Lord’s.
But God’s truth is God’s truth, and it stands strong and immovable, in no need for our man-adding or improvement. Do I know it? Am I familiar enough with the real thing that I recognize when counterfeit teaching or requirements are presented? One good test is whether what is required lines up with Scripture. Another is whether the keeping of dictates is a strain or joy. God’s commands are not burdensome, for they fulfill His spiritual law and are obeyed by the power of His Spirit, issuing freedom and delight. (1 John 5:3)
What traditions, either errantly taught or self-imposed, have trumped God’s word in my life? Am I so bent on how I need to please Him to win His favor that I’ve evaded His grace and lost my first love? Have I become too rigid in practices and habits that leave no room for a change of direction or commitment? Am I so stuck on what I must do that I neglect the different thing the Lord is calling me to do? Where have I lost the heart of true worship and ministry to others? A life firmly rooted in God’s truth sets every priority and effort in proper place. (Revelation 2:4)
Father, may Your Word alone determine my daily direction, choices, and practices, to Your glory.
As the rain and snow 