Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.  Mark 7:8

Recommended Reading: Colossians 2:8  “ ⁸ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ..”

COMMENTS: Do you recall when your children went through a phase of answering every time you asked them to do something with “Why?” or every time you took them somewhere they didn’t want to go?  Maybe your grandchildren are going through such a phase now?  Discipline doesn’t help other than maybe make them only want to ask the question but are still asking it in their mines.  It isn’t necessarily asked out of a defiant spirit, but often is.  We can usually tell the difference based on facial expression or tone of voice whether is a genuine question or a defiant expression.  Maybe you recall such an experience from your own childhood.  If so, you probably are mostly remembering your parent’s response.

I remember a funny story of a newly married couple celebrating their first Christmas.  The husband watched his wife cut the ends off the ham before placing it in the roaster to put in the oven.  He asked why she did so.  She replied that her mom always did that and her mother did that, but she wasn’t able to remember why?  Her mother didn’t remember the reason either, but they all presumed it was important to assure the ham would cook properly.  The new husband said why not ask your grandmother when she comes over for Christmas meal.  They did and discovered the reason was the ham would not fit into her grandmother’s roaster.  They all laughed and wondered why they didn’t ask sooner.

But not all traditions are bad nor should change with differing circumstances.  Even Jesus confronted religious leaders of His day that some traditions they adhered to conflicted with God’s commandments.  An example was “Corban – designating personal funds as God’s money to avoid using those funds to support one’s parents in need (Exodus 20:12 Mark 7:9-13).  He told them traditions are good only when they support scripture (2 Thessalonians 2:15,3:6).  A common response in churches or families or even in our own individual lives is “we’ve always done it that way.”  It may prevent us from asking “why” but sometimes we should ask why.  Judging and questioning rules and habits based on God’s rules and commands in scripture can be a good thing.  But the purpose and goals of those rules should also be discovered as well so those commands are not misunderstood either.   Dressing up for Sunday worship was considered more important 50-100 years ago more so than today.  To go to church then in work cloths was considered disrespectful and those doing so would be shunned.  Today such a reaction would be criticized.  Yet the need to show reverence during worship is still important and is supported by scripture, but a welcoming – loving atmosphere encouraging all to come to worship is also supportive in scripture.  Understanding the goal of such commands helps understand where flexibility is needed and where diligence is needed. 

When we look at John’s comments to each of the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3, we discover the condition of our souls and reason for obedience is just as important as outside conduct.  Same is true of asking why.  The reason for questioning can be as important as act of questioning.  Honest inquiry to understand goal of God’s commands is good, but motive of trying to get out of obedience isn’t.   Our question should not be “how little we have to do to stay in God’s graces?” but should be “how much more can I do as a response of love and gratitude for my Savior?”.

 “Too much religious activity is just old Adam in his Sunday clothes.” Vance Havne

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