Today, I hear it more and more -- I hear it in Christian Club at school, I see it in the lives of my friends and acquaintances, I see it in the church -- a following after traditions and celebrations, an observing of this day or that day, seasons that Christians make a special effort to set apart.
In the 1940s, A. W. Tozer said “From this bondage reformers and puritans and mystics have laboured to free us. Today, the trend in conservative circles is back toward that bondage again. It is said that a horse, after it has been led out of a burning building, will sometimes, by a strange obstinacy, break loose from its rescuer and dash back into the building again to perish in the flame. By some such stubborn tendency toward error, fundamentalism in our day is moving back toward spiritual slavery. The observation of days and times is becoming more and more prominent among us. “Lent” and “holy week” and “good” Friday are words heard more and more frequently upon the lips of gospel Christians.” [One might easily add “christmas” and “advent” to this list.]
How much more enslaved to tradition are we today? Tozer saw what he saw sixty years ago – now, we have sixty more years of life behind us, and now those who grew up observing times and seasons are not mere children, but the pre-eminent people in the church. What do we have today? Are we not more entrenched in our observances than ever before?
I hate tradition. I hate tradition, because, even though it often is begun with a real purpose (as a means to accomplishing an end), it often ends up controlling our lives – the tradition itself becomes an end in itself – it usurps the value and the authority of the initial reason it even exists!
“I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
– Amos 5:21-24
Traditions should only exist to serve a purpose greater than themselves. If they do not plainly serve that purpose, they cease to be useful. In fact, they become worse than useless – they shackle the mind and begin to enslave, yes, enslave our will, so that we no longer live or fight for a goal or purpose that is valuable in and of itself, but we begin to fight for the tradition. This is horror of the greatest magnitude. To zealously go into battle for something that has no intrinsic value is utterly ridiculous.
“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.”
– Colossians 2:8
The only thing that is of real intrinsic value for any intellectual life activity is truth. At the root of all conflict, of all science, of all things worth fighting for, you will find truth. It is the one thing worth dying for. “I’m right and you’re wrong” we say as individuals. We say it as nations too: “you can’t treat people that way – it’s not decent, it’s not human – it’s not right!”
If truth is worth dying for, if it is worth fighting for, it is certainly worth living for! That is why I am here – to tell you, if you haven’t realized it already; to drive it home to you, if you’ve been thinking about it; and to encourage you, if you know it already – if truth is not the ruling principle in your life, you will end your life with nothing of any real value to you.
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
– Proverbs 4:7
Thus, our most important pursuit in life is to know and act on truth; to live our lives by it. Anything less is worse than useless. "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" True freedom is found only in Truth.
"Be a lover of truth. Let neither majority nor authority be more important to you than truth."
– Dennis Carrol
The only real authority is derived from truth. Truth is not determined by popular vote, for it remains the same whether or not the whole world refuses to acknowledge it. Truth is not determined by authority, by the word of a leader, for many is the leader who has led through falsehood and deception.
"Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding."
– Proverbs 23:23
Truth of supreme importance, and because of its importance, our lives must be led by his guide. Truth does us no good if we know it and yet ignore it through our actions. We must know it and live by it. "The lip of truth shall be established forever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment." (Proverbs 12:19) If you settle for less than truth in your life, in your motives, in your actions, your life is wasted. "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36)
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1 comment:
"Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptable things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct recieved by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 1:18-19
We should set apart certain things (such as Christ's birth death and resurrection) but it shouldn't become sucha tradition that it gets in the way of what is really important; honoring God.
I dislike tradition but yet I like certain traditions that we have. LIke, I enjoy Christmas but I dislike it because we don't focus on what needs to be focused on when we are observing this tradition. When we get caught up in traditions we often loose sight of what the tradition was started for therefore making that tradition useless.
I like what you said "Traditions should only exist to serve a purpose greater than themselves. If they do not plainly serve that purpose, they cease to be useful. In fact, they become worse than useless – they shackle the mind and begin to enslave, yes, enslave our will,"
At my house we have several traditions that I personaly don't see a use for but we have them and my parents fight for them so they are there. But why? Traditions in and of themselves are not evil, it is the repetition of them until they are worse than useless and we loose the point.
Basically what I think I'm trying to say is I agree with you....I might be succeeding on that but I'm not sure....anyway.
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