Defiling Tradition

 

    Tradition is not based on faith.  It is based on ritual, habits, and demeanor.  It has a habit of overtaking faith and becoming part of worship, when it should be only providing structure.  There is nothing wrong with tradition until it replaces your security in God.

    God wants devotion.  He wants your heart, not nice sounding words or actions without purpose.  It is our mouth that can defile a person's actions because it always reveals the true heart.  Don't follow people into traditional deeds like a blind person.  Question the purpose and reason behind things, if it seems off.  It is okay to question good things.  It doesn't mean you are being rebellious. It means you are seeking understanding.  It would be foolish for the blind to follow the blind and never find what their heart was seeking.

    People naturally have evil hearts: thoughts of murder (rage), adultery (lust), sexual immorality, theft, lies, and slander.  Your faith does not show through when these sins are dominant in your life.  That is why your goal should be to rid yourself of anything that defiles your faith.  That is when true worship will emerge from your soul.  This is when you can start walking in faith.

    When your walk with God is based on faith, then He is eager to grant you your prayer request.  This is when your prayers start lining up with the plans He has for you.  That means that once your heart is a line with His, you are receiving your heart's desires.

    People flocked to Jesus to be healed, but it went deeper than that.  He broke the mold of tradition.  That means you either hated him or wanted to be near him.  It is the same today.  When we break the mold of tradition, then people hate us or want to be near us because we are Christians in the true definition.  A Christians is a follower of Christ.  A person that acts like Christ.  He will not leave us wanting because he loves us and has compassion for us.  

Matthew 15