October 31 - Traditions of Men

 Read today’s texts first: Job 22; Mark 7,8

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

God’s law of love must be the foundation
of our lives and our traditions. 

When I hear the word “tradition” I think of that famous song from Fiddler on the Roof.  Tevye is singing his lament over his five daughters defying Jewish traditions and his right to choose their husbands. The Jewish faith is loaded with traditions that go far beyond the laws God gave them. Jesus pointed that out to the Pharisees who criticized Him and His disciples for ignoring their traditions. He countered by calling them hypocrites for emphasizing traditions that actually undermine God’s laws and the Spirit behind them (7:6-13).

We do that in our churches and homes today. I just watched a TV show about how children are shunned by their families for not complying with their Amish traditions. I actually cried when I saw a young man returning from his experiment with the “English” lifestyle, standing at his childhood home, saying to his parents “it’s your son”, and hearing back, “you are not our son anymore!” I wondered how this tradition of shunning fits with the father’s love taught by Jesus in His parable of the prodigal son.

Even our more progressive churches have traditions and rules that undermine the heart of God to reach the lost. We are upset when homeless people, recovering addicts, and common-law couples come through our hallowed doors and don’t dress right, sit in our personal “pew” or go out for a smoke on the front steps. We call it “church protocol” instead of tradition but the effect is the same.

These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules (7:6b,7).

“Lord, may I never forget Your law of love that must be the foundation of my life and my traditions. Tonight, as children come to my door in search of Halloween treats, may I show them the love of God instead of the rejection some church traditions require.”