Matthew 15:1-9 ESV Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the traditions of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandments of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
Tradition can be a good thing. It can give us a sense of continuity. It is often based on sound principles and wise foundations. While it can be good, tradition is not scripture. When people elevate tradition to the stature of scripture, tradition becomes not only dangerous, but heretical.
The tradition the religious leaders brought up was about ritual hand washing. Somewhere along the way, the Jewish oral tradition had determined a specific way to wash hand before eating. There is nothing inherently wrong with washing hands before eating but the problem was this tradition brought the illusion of purity. If you followed this tradition it made you ritually pure. It did nothing however to make a person truly pure in God’s eyes.
Many churches and people have traditions that are good in and of themselves, but become dangerous when people think keeping that tradition makes the holy or pure. Some examples might be refraining from using tobacco or alcohol products. Those may be beneficial but neither bring holiness, yet they can give a false sense of holiness.
Traditions can be good when they point us to Christ, but can turn dangerous when they become mindless repetition. Jesus gave His disciples the “Lord’s Prayer” as a pattern for prayer. Sadly, it is much too often not a pattern, but a rote saying that people recite without ever thinking of the meaning of the words. Then it no longer becomes a prayer but a useless incantation.
Even praying before meals can become only a tradition if one is just saying the words and not truly expressing gratitude to the God who provided the food. The kids in our family always liked when my Dad was chosen to say grace. His “prayer” was quick – the same 15 words every time – spoken in the same cadence which didn’t delay the meal too long.
I encourage each of us to examine ourselves and our lives. Do we have meaningless traditions that give us a false sense of holiness? We don’t necessarily need to give up the tradition. We just need to remind ourselves of the purpose behind the tradition and let it point us to Jesus. Keep reciting the Lord’s Prayer, but do so while purposefully thinking about what Jesus was teaching with each phrase. Continue to abstain from things if you believe that is what God wants. Just actively do it, or not do it, for God, not as simply what you do.
Lord, please reveal to me any traditions in my life that have lost their meaning and may be becoming harmful. Let everything in my life point to You.