Bible Devotions for Living

Do you have traditions that violate God’s Word?

And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? (Mt 15:3)

Traditions can be a very emotionally powerful force in a person or family’s life. Those traditions can be so powerful that the thought of not following one upsets us. We all have some traditions like eating turkey on Thanksgiving, exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve, watching the ball drop on New Year’s Eve, and many more. The traditions we follow, or even create, can be harmless or very bad. Some traditions can even contradict Scripture and be sinful.

The Pharisees in the Bible had many traditions that they followed. Some were harmless and some contradicted Scripture completely. In fact, they even revoked God’s Word and elevated some of their traditions to the level of being like Scripture (Mt 15:7-9).

Be careful of the traditions you follow whether they were handed down or you started them because they might be bad.

What is a “Bad” Tradition?

A bad tradition is one that violates a Biblical directive or principle. In the Bible, we see this happen all the time. Idolatry became a tradition in Israel (1 Kings 12:25-31), as did powerful men taking multiple wives. Over time, these sinful traditions became common and seemed “normal,” even though they were wrong.

Bad traditions are handed down to children all the time. Traditions like swearing, antisemitism, sexism, alcoholism, wife beating, etc are often carried forward by children who saw that modeled in their families. 

Traditions can get so deeply engrained that you don’t even notice them until you wake up and look at them, especially from a Biblical perspective.

Think about it

Examine yourself now to see if you are following, or even starting, any bad traditions. Weigh your traditions and learned behaviors against the Bible. Ask yourself if you really want your child to pick that thing up and do the same.

Take a close look at your life and identify any ungodly traditions you’ve adopted.

• Look at how you were raised. Are you acting like your parents in a bad way? Are there habits or attitudes you learned from your parents or siblings that you’ve carried forward? Can you think of any bad traditions you have from watching your parents?

• Look at your current influences. Have you picked up bad behaviors and ways from the people closest to you? Have spouses or friends influenced you over the years into traditions that are ungodly?
• Look at your own behavior. Have you started any new bad traditions yourself over the past few years?

Now look at yourself to see if you’ve started any traditions that are bad and against Scripture.

Have you started your own bad tradition?

What traditions will your children or grandchildren pick up from you? Are you happy about them all?

Do you need to make some changes in your life?

Pay attention to your traditions and learned behaviors from your family and don’t just do them because that’s how they’ve always been done or because that’s how your family did it.

Ask yourself: Do my traditions violate God’s Word?