Truth vs. Tradition continued ...

OK - back to some thoughts with substance to reflect on ... I've been collecting these thoughts over a period of several months I guess.


We sometimes find ourselves going down life's road and realize we are little off course. So we try to get back to what we should be doing. The danger is that we over-compensate and get ourselves in a worse situation than the one we were originally in. Have you ever seen/experienced this literally in a car? I was driving someone to the airport early one Sunday morning, and as I went down the highway I noticed a car come across the median and over into my lane. What happened exactly I do not know. But the driver of that car probably veered off the right side of the road then swerved too far to the left into oncoming traffic. Certainly he/she was in a bad situation traveling with traffic but not on the road, but he/she ended up in a much worse situation once they crossed over into oncoming traffic. Fortunately traffic was pretty light and no one else was affected in this case.

Spiritually, we can do the same thing. I've seen people say - well the church was wrong on this so I am changing this ... and this and this ... where does it end? I believe it is OK to change when you find something is not what it should be, but we have to be careful that we keep our foundation solid and our testimony in tact. It's sad when you talk to someone and they say "I'm changing here but I'll never do this other thing" but sometime later you see them doing exactly what they claimed they would never do. But when hypocrisy and compromise set it you can not stop the erosion of your foundation until you go back and correct the errors. Sadly, many go right on professing salvation and are blinded to their condition.

Separating truth from tradition helps us to keep our foundation in order. When a building is being built, the law requires an inspection for each step of the process. A trained inspector stops by to verify everything is built to code. Spiritually, the Holy Spirit is our inspector who is with us night and day, and as long as we have life we are under construction and must be willing to accept the recommendations of the Holy Spirit. If we ignore the inspector - we will be shut down - from having a personal walk with God. So we know who helps us understand the code. We also have the written code to read - the Bible. Now we have to have an understanding - and be respectful of the fact that the person who sits on the pew in front of you may have a slightly different understanding but still loves the Lord. The inspector will not shut you down for the color of your building, but he can if your foundation and structure are built with the wrong materials or in a hazardous way. The Bible gives us truth - some truth's seem more straight forward than others. Like the ten commandments are more obvious - "Thou shalt not ..." tells us exactly what not to do. Others take a little more understanding and leadership from the Holy Spirit - like should I drink/smoke/go here or there? The Bible was written to endure the ages of time, meaning that it is not going to name out modern inventions and use the same terms as our society uses. And then there are principles in the Bible that guide us each as individuals to keep ourselves from becoming entangled in the snares of the world. These principles protect us from inevitable erosion of our morals based on our own human reasoning. For some, sports might be a stumbling block and more caution needs to be exercised for that individual. Others might be able to become more involved and never stumble at all. Maybe this is what is meant by "Work out your own salvation". There is a point where we must leave people with God - and that is an issue on it's own.

When tradition is taught/preached as though it were truth, there inevitably will come a time when someone will question the teaching and want to make corrections. If they have a honest heart and a solid foundation of truth, then by following Christ they can make the right correction. If they are in the flesh, then they will over-compensate and start to create their own religion/creed. The over-compensating epidemic the Church of God has faced over the years of time has left much heart-ache to the newer generations who are still looking for answers as to why we do the things we do. We also struggle with whose right and whose wrong, or can both be right and share different opinions although separation has occurred.

How many religions are there? No one could say for sure - those documented are and overwhelming amount. I do not accept that anyone person or body has all the answers. I do accept that the teachings I have been around are more central to the truth than any others I have come across. Others may do some things better - like have better unity or be better stewards. However, I tend to live by the 80/20 rule. That rule says that you don't throw something away if it is 80% useful. You work on the 20% even though that 20% seems like the overwhelming majority at times. You resolve your differences and/or find room to disagree as a first priority. There are Biblical principles for working out your problems. If you do not follow them -then you will split regardless if the matter is on truth or tradition. I consider these principle to be classified as ones that are easy to understand - they do not require a lot of smarts and digging before you say "Oh, now I understand it ... a little". But they have not been followed and so we see the messes in different fellowships today. Consider Mattew 18 & Joshua 22 for a starting point of these principles. Matthew lists a three step process and you have to follow all three steps in that order. Joshua deals with a specific example of how our human tendencies automatically demand justice when we don't have all the facts. If we would be patient and collect all the information, we would not be so quick to want to kill our brothers and sisters. Today, it is not so much a killing of the flesh, but a killing of fellowship.

You will find me on the conservative side of most traditional issues. I beleive that you should provide your self a buffer that keeps you away from the cliff. If you veer out of your lane a little, then you have not fallen over the cliff. And be sure the Holy Spirit is leading you when you make adjustments. I do not have any Bible for this (not to say it isn't there) but I can't believe that God shows one person or family something and leaves everyone else in the dark. God will send His Holy Spirit to the spritiual body and begin to deal with a group of individuals. This helps us know that we are not relying on our own understanding.

Main points - keep your foundation built on truth, be respectful of people whose views vary from your own (even if you beleive it is sin), and do not over-compensate.

Next, I am thinking about how to accept with change without compromising. This will take some time ...