Traditions of Men
by Liz Griffin
The Pharisees gathered around to find fault with Jesus and asked Him a question; “Why don’t your disciples live according to the traditions of the elders?” I believe it was really more of an accusation.
Jesus strongly confronted them by calling them play-actors (hypocrites) and gave a quotation from Isaiah 29:13 about those who pretended to worship God but their hearts were far away from Him. He then said ‘You have let go the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men’.
Today this statement causes me to pause and wonder whether any of us are doing the same. Are our hearts close or far away from God? Do we put traditions ahead of the commands of God? What is our highest value in life? Is it to do the will of God? If so then do we allow ourselves to be controlled by traditions that are not in line with God’s will?
Do we do things which others expect us to although they’re not right in God’s eyes? It’s not an easy thing to be different from those around us in our job, family, school (or even church). The line of least resistance is to do things to keep others happy, to agree with their ideas, but then afterwards, before God in the secret place, we feel ashamed.
Followers of Jesus are to be salt and light for this world. This might mean that some will disapprove of our values, ideas, opinions and way of life. We might be rejected, ridiculed or sneered at. On the other hand someone might discover God’s truth through our influence. What a privilege to make it possible for someone else to enter the Kingdom of God.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly father, may I never deny You or Your son Jesus by failing to stand up for the truth that I know. Help me to be a witness for You and bring light into the darkness of this world. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Liz Griffin lived for 20 years as an expatriate in South Africa, Bahrain and Japan, as her husband Paul worked for an international oil company. Paul and Liz became involved with Ellel Ministries in 1991 as part of the ministry team and joined the full-time team at Ellel Grange in 1995. Paul and Liz teach and minister to those seeking healing in their lives and together have written two books, 'Anger - How Do You Handle It' and 'Hope and Healing For The Abused'.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
