A Slave to Traditions?

  All of us live with habits, things we do without much thought, mostly because we have always done it that way.  I’m a creature of habit- getting up, enjoying a cup of coffee, reading the Word, going to the office to work, etc - in a predictable pattern.  

If we had to take the time to plan out each and every choice for every day we would be overwhelmed. Our habits serve us with order and let us get on with life until ... 
we become slaves to them!  When major changes come our way, and they will, we have to be prepared to re-examine our habits and adapt.  One of the worst reasons to do anything is ‘because we have always done it that way.’

Is your Christian experience primarily a habit, defined by tradition, absent the newness of life promised to those who walk ‘in the Spirit?’ 
Or, are you discovering what God has for you, at this time, in this season of your life?

One day Jesus was invited to dinner by a Pharisee.  Pharisees were respectable people, intent on keeping God’s Law. They were tragically enslaved by their traditions. As Jesus came to this man’s table do you know what the religious man noticed?  It was not Jesus’ amazing love, insight, or wisdom.  He was obsessed with the fact that Jesus failed to observe the traditional ritual of washing his hands before the meal!  "When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.”

When the man pointed out Jesus’ supposed failure, Jesus told him that his preoccupation with external cleanliness was hiding a much more serious corruption - a filthy heart!  As the conversation continued, it became even more troubling for the Pharisee and his traditions. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it.”

Before we throw away all the guidelines for expressing our worship and devotion to God, let’s be careful to understand what Jesus said. He did not condemn tithing or hand-washing! His point is that  true holiness is connected to ALL of the choices we make in life. It is not just a state of mind!  What did Jesus ask of them and us? That we remember to keep our hearts engaged with God, not just our hands.  These men, in all their religious traditions, were the walking dead!  They kept up the traditions of religion without being alive to God. 

"One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs... “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.” (Luke 11:37-52, NIV)

The Pharisees, in spite of their constant study of the Scripture and minute attention to the traditions of the Law, had lost sight of the ‘why’ behind the ‘what.’  The very Law that was to make them aware of the holiness of God and turn their hearts to seek Him, the Scripture they ‘studied’ that told of the coming of the Messiah, had no real meaning because they were locked into their preoccupation with tradition. They could not turn the key to open the door for themselves. Even more tragically, they were blocking the way of many others who were spiritually hungering.

What a word for us today!  
Do we go to worship services just because it’s Sunday morning and fail to engage our heart with the Spirit? 

Do we read the Bible because we were taught it was the right thing to do, but fail to respond to the revelation of God that would transform us?

Do we build church buildings and sustain an array of religious programs without inviting the Lord of Glory to be the One at the center of these things?

Or, are we sustained by the traditions even as we are refreshed by His Presence, “His mercies new every morning?”

Here is the word from the Word.  May the Spirit make us alive in Him as we enter into His Presence.

"Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting- they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!" (Isaiah 1:13-14, NLT)

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat." (Isaiah 1:18-19, NLT)

______________ 

Fully Alive

Fully alive in Your Spirit,

Lord, make me fully alive.

Fully aware of Your presence, Lord,

Totally, fully alive.

Don't let me miss all the glory around me,

Waiting for heav'n someday to come.

Open my eyes to miraculous Mondays,

And make my feet march to eternity's drum.

Gloria Gaither | William J. Gaither

© 1983 William J. Gaither, Inc. (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

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