Traditions are customs, beliefs and practices that are passed down from generation to generation. As we enter the holiday season, we see many of those traditions on display in our communities, churches and even in our family gatherings. However, each succeeding generation is further removed from the origin of the tradition thus also the purpose of the tradition.
There is a story about a new pastor who noticed on his first day in the church that during the singing the congregation would stand, turn towards the wall and sing. The pastor thought this unusual since the wall was blank, but nonetheless he turned to face the wall joining the rest of congregation. The next week the same thing happened. The congregation sang facing the wall. After several weeks of this the new pastor determined to discover the reason for this practice. At first he asked several people why they did this, but their response was, “We’ve always done it this way.” Not satisfied with that answer, he continued to delve deeper into this mystery. He finally found an elderly member of the church who remembered why they sang facing the wall. This member was a child when the pastor at the time wanted to teach the church some new songs. This was before the advent of modern audio visual equipment, so he would write the words on the wall for the people to see as they sang, but they had to turn and face the wall. This became a regular routine of the church during this pastor’s tenure, but over time the songs became familiar and hymn books came along so the writing on the wall ceased but the people continued to turn and sing to the wall.
Not all traditions are as humorous or innocent as this story illustrates. There are times when traditions becomes idols worshiped in the church. Not all idols are created by hands, but many are. The Old Testament chronicles the struggles of God’s people to break the yoke of idolatry and worship the one, true God. Even good things such as the temple of God became an idol as the people worshiped other idols, pushed God aside in His temple and practiced meaningless rituals there. The temple had become more significant than was meant to be. Israel allowed their traditions to become more important than the truth thus allowing them to become idols. God sent prophets to Israel and Judah, warning them that judgment would come if idol worship persisted. “However, they would not listen but continued practicing their former customs. These nations feared the LORD but also served their idols. Their children and grandchildren continue doing as their fathers did until today.” (2 Kings 17:40-41 HCSB). Israel’s conduct clearly depicts the challenges of standing against their historical practices and traditions even if it they were contrary to God’s Word.
In our current context, we need to ask ourselves if some of our traditions, buildings, programs and theological positions have become idols. How do we know if something other than Christ is the object of our supreme devotion? How do we know that something intended for good has taken on a life of its own and become an idol of worship? If we examined 2 Kings 17 in its entirety, we will see some key indicators of this.
Initially, they did not listen. Although they had prophets proclaiming the truth to them, their ears were deaf. Secondly, their deafness led them to be obstinate or stiff-necked. They no longer wanted to pursue truth or be led in the paths of righteousness. Then they abandoned God’s Word and practiced what was evil. They were resistant to God’s ways. Finally, unbelief in God prevailed in their culture because they no longer knew what God required. Let us examine our own lives. Let us ask what idols need to be torn down and crushed, so that we may serve the Lord with a clean heart.
Kevin Carrothers