SCRIPTURE: Mark 7:6-13
6 He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." 9 And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 11 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."
OBSERVATION:
Jesus said to the Pharisees that they were hypocrites because Isaiah was right about them when he said that they honored God when they spoke but their hearts were not with him. That they worshipped him in vain, and that their teachings were just rule made by man. That they were more worried about traditions instead of following the commands of God. He then gave an example that Moses told them that if a man curses his mother and father, he is to be put to death. But they say that if a man basically curses his parents by saying anything I have ever done for you is a gift to God, then he doesn’t have to do anything else for his parents, there by nullifying God’s word for the sake of there tradition. They did many things like that.
APPLICATION:
This brings up a question I have to ask myself. What am I doing that is more tradition instead of God’s will. Am I truly obeying God or am I just following a man made way of doing things. Sometimes the answer is yes and othes no. I have to check myself often or else I can fall into letting my traditions become God and my God become nothing to me.
PRAYER:
Father, I pray that you continue to open my eyes to my faults and to where I have to make correction. Father I thank you for this verse today. It is a reminder to me to make sure my focus is on you and your will instead of tradition. Father I can’t follow you if my tradition becomes my God. Keep my heart from it. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.