Every single person establishes traditions as they pass through life. It has been noted that if one does something once—that is an event; if one does it twice—that’s a recurrence; if one does it three times—what we have is a habit; and if one does it four times it becomes a tradition. That is just how simple it is for us to establish a tradition.

Even God is traditional—he always does what he says he will do, ALWAYS! Those who were most caught-up in traditions were the Pharisees—the professionally religious. We read of one encounter with Jesus in Matthew 15.2-6: ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!’ This seems more like a matter of cleanliness than holiness, doesn’t it?

Jesus turns the tables on them: ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘’Honor your father and mother’’ and ‘’anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’’ The Lord was pressing them to the level of commitment toward Father God that would make his will most prominent.

Then Jesus thrusts his weapon to the heart: ‘But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘’Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’’ he is not to ‘’honor his father’’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.’ The point is made! The traditions of God supercede all others, and it simply doesn’t matter how strongly you feel about yours.