1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 2 (NIV)
I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you.
Traditions can be good things. We don’t know what traditions Paul was referring to here, but he commended the Corinthians for holding to them. I love special family traditions too. I’m sure everyone probably has at least one.
But we need to be careful that we don’t get too caught up with our traditions too, especially those relating to our faith, so that the traditions themselves become more important than the reason they began. It could be traditions around the format of our services, the way we worship, or how we pray. These are all fine in the right way, but what if they themselves become more important than the One they were supposed to point us to?
Partly that’s what went wrong with the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. They got caught up with the traditions and lost sight of the One those traditions pointed to. They even rebuked Him for not keeping those traditions whilst He was in their midst.
Sometimes God might want to shake us up to see if those traditions are more important to us than He is.
I’ve become more aware of this over the last few years since having to join a new fellowship. Having had over 40 years in one fellowship, it was quite an eye opener joining another. If things were done differently, how did I react? I needed to be careful when tempted to make comparisons. My attitude should always be that when I go to church, regardless of where, that I open myself to expect to hear from God. When I show up with that attitude, I always do because that’s the attitude God expects.
This will be tested again in the next two weeks. Two weeks ago I went to a conference run by my former church group. It was wonderful as I expected it would be. I knew the format and how the meetings would run and I expected to hear God’s word and see Him move. And I did. In two weeks time, my new fellowship is having a church weekend away. A new concept for some. I need to be careful to go with the same attitude as I did two weeks ago, and not hold on to those old camp traditions.
Dear Lord,
Thank You that when we seek You with our whole heart, we always find You. Help me not to get caught up in the trappings or traditions. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.