“So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, ‘Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?’
He replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”
‘You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.’ And he continued, ‘You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, “Honor your father and mother,” and, “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.” But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.’” (Mark 7:5-13 NIV)
“Light the Fire,” I heard from beside me as we gathered around a bonfire enjoying a beautiful summer’s night and singing songs. The leader had just asked for requests. “Light the Fire,” I heard again. The two freshmen didn’t know any of the songs we had previously sung and their request was a desire to sing something familiar, something that reminded them of their youth group back home. “We miss it so much,” they told me later. “We just wish we could be back home with our church and our pastor.”
For freshmen, the first weeks of the college experience can be very difficult. Everything is new and unfamiliar. Sometimes the longing for the familiar is so great, new students will return home every weekend or even drop out of school so they can move back home.
The unfamiliar is uncomfortable and, sometimes, threatening to our sense of wellbeing. We tend to recoil from it rather than embrace it. The human tendency is to settle into routine and tradition and to resist change. Sometimes, as with the Pharisees and other religious folks, the need to cling to the familiar supersedes even the commands of God.
If traditions and the familiar can command such sway in our lives, then we should be aware of their dangers and alert to their negative influence on our lives.
This is not to say that traditions are always bad, just that they have a way of impeding our growth and even leading us into disobedience. For example, my wife and I have taken students to South Africa to serve with missionaries there. Several years we took this trip over the Christmas Break. Often, parents objected if their children wanted to participate because it interfered with the family’s Christmas traditions. It would be only one Christmas missed, but even that was too much. They never considered what the Lord might want; keeping the family tradition was what mattered.
Many church splits are the result of traditions being threatened. A typical scenario is a new pastor attempts to change some things. There is resistance from members of the congregation, which eventually leads to the dismissal of the pastor and his supporters follow him, or those against the changes will leave the church.
The end result of this is people miss out on opportunities to grow and mature, and, sometimes, can even be led astray by clinging to the familiar. “Come, follow me” is not an invitation to remain comfortable, but to venture onto an unfamiliar path led by One who knows where He is going.
I encouraged the freshmen to “hang in there” and not to give into the lure of the familiar because I know their current uncomfortableness will give way to growth, maturity, and joy if they will embrace the changes happening in their lives. Jesus never promised us comfortable lives, but did promise to give us life to the full (John 10:10).
Today, recognize clinging to the familiar can be an impediment to your spiritual growth. Following Jesus means we often have to leave familiar territory and embark on an unfamiliar path. The end result, however, will be far greater than we could ever imagine.
© Jim Musser 2014
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