[Faith-talk] traditions

[WESLEY BURDEN]

Tradition



"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the

Thessalonians, for they received the message with great

eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see

if what Paul said was true."



       I have read how, as a boy in the Midwest, Dale

Carnegie used to amuse himself by holding a stick

across a gateway that the sheep had to pass through.



       After the first few sheep jumped over the stick,

Dale would take it away. Oddly enough, all of the

remaining sheep would also leap through the gateway

over the imaginary barrier. The only reason for their

jumping was that those in front of them had jumped.



       Sheep are not the only ones with this tendency.

Many of us are prone to do what we have seen others

do, believe what others believe, and often accept

without question what our leaders teach.



       Traditions can be a blessing or a bane. Some

religious traditions are good and help keep healthy

ties to the past. Other traditions, especially

man-made religious traditions, can keep people in

bondage and stop them from seeing the truth. For one

example ... take the music in today's Christian

churches. It is one of the biggest areas of conflict.

Some want to cling only to the old hymns; others want

to do away with much of the past and sing only "praise

choruses." The interesting thing about the latter, I

have recently read how some of the younger generation

are now wanting to go back to the old hymns as they

already see "praise choruses" as being traditional and

don't want to be singing the same music in church that

they hear in the secular world every day!



       I know of one church where some members rebelled

not against singing praise choruses in their Sunday

morning worship service, but against having a screen

on which to view the words. They said they couldn't

worship God with a screen in the front of the church

sanctuary! That church clung so tightly to tradition

that it was unable to move from the old ways to any of

the new, and died. It no longer exists.



       There's much truth in what Gloria Steinem is

credited as having said: "The first problem for all of

us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn."



        Saddest thing of all was that the religious people

of Jesus day, while they were waiting for the promised

Messiah, didn't recognize or accept him when he came.

Tradition blinded them to reality.



        But there are also good traditions that we need to

keep. Accepting Jesus as your Savior and Lord is a

2,000-year-old tradition. It has never changed. It

never will. Jesus is still the only way to God. As

Jesus himself said, "I am the way and the truth and

the life. No one comes to the Father [God] except

through me."



        As today's Bible verse points out, the early

Christians in Berea constantly examined the Scriptures

to make sure that Paul's teachings were in harmony with

the Word of God. We need to do the same--and cling to

that which is true and discard that which is untrue or

no longer relevant. As the Apostle himself taught,

"Test everything. Hold on to the good." Besides,

have you ever noticed how silent the New Testament is

on methodology? I think God had a good reason for

that.



        Suggested prayer. "Dear God, please help me to keep

a healthy balance between the old and the new, to

discern the difference between traditions that are in

harmony with your Word and those which are man-made

irrelevant traditions. Please give me the wisdom to

know the difference between the two, the courage to

cling to that which is true, and the willingness to

discard that which is not of you. Thank you for

hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus'

name, amen."


Stu
<mailto:K5stu at sbcglobal.net>K5stu at sbcglobal.net
Reading your Bible today will help prepare you for A Brighter Tomorrow!
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