TRADITION IS SO DUMB!

Tradition can sometimes mess with our faith. We all have practices, habits, or rituals that we hold on to, but the question is: Are these things actually bringing us closer to God, or have they just become things we do out of habit? Jesus challenges us on this very issue in the Gospels, especially when it comes to the Pharisees and their focus on tradition over true worship. He calls them out in Mark 7, saying, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7). This is a huge red flag: Just because we’re going through the motions doesn’t mean we’re connecting with God.

Jesus isn’t saying traditions are bad in themselves, but He’s pointing out that if traditions become the focus and we forget what they’re supposed to point us to, we’ve missed the whole point. When we get caught up in doing things just because they’re familiar or because that’s the way we’ve always done it, we lose the depth and richness of what true worship really looks like. It becomes mechanical. It becomes a checklist. God is not looking for mechanical obedience, He’s after our hearts.

We see this same theme in Matthew 15 when Jesus directly questions the Pharisees, saying, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3). This is the challenge for us, too. Are we holding on to things that are keeping us from actually living out what God says, or are we just doing things because we’ve always done them? It’s easy to fall into this pattern, especially in church life. The way we’ve always done things feels comfortable, and there’s nothing wrong with tradition as long as it doesn’t crowd out what truly matters: loving God and living out His Word.

Take a look at churches that rely heavily on traditional services. They might have beautiful liturgies, hymns, and long-held practices. These can all be meaningful, but they can also become distractions if they start to overshadow the message of grace and redemption through Jesus. Sometimes, we get so caught up in performing rituals, doing the right things at the right time, and sticking to the schedule, that we forget why we’re doing them in the first place. Worship becomes about doing the right thing in the right way, instead of simply encountering God and surrendering our hearts to Him.

This is where the danger lies—traditions can become more about the performance than the purpose. When we focus on the form rather than the function, we end up missing what God really wants for us. In Revelation 3:1, Jesus addresses the church in Sardis and says, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” They had all the right actions, they were keeping up appearances, but there was no life behind it. They were stuck in a pattern that didn’t lead to spiritual growth.

Think about it—how many times do we go through the motions of faith without actually engaging our hearts? We show up for church, sing the songs, maybe even say the prayers, but if we’re not paying attention to what God is doing in the moment, we might as well be sitting through a lecture or a concert. It’s not the tradition itself that’s the problem, but the fact that we often use tradition as a substitute for real relationship.

But it doesn’t have to stay that way. There’s hope. Jesus offers us something better—a faith that isn’t about following a set of rules, but about a real, living relationship with Him. In John 4:24, Jesus says, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” This isn’t about getting the right liturgy or perfecting our rituals; it’s about engaging with God from a place of truth. Worship isn’t just an outward act—it’s about what’s happening inside of us.

There’s something powerful about engaging with Scripture and letting it shape our worship. The new pastor who came into that church I mentioned earlier didn’t just throw out the traditions altogether. He didn’t reject everything that had been done before. But he encouraged the congregation to move beyond the rituals and start focusing on what Scripture says about who God is and how He wants us to live. Over time, people began to realize that they weren’t just doing church; they were experiencing God. Their faith was deepened, not because they followed traditions better, but because they allowed themselves to be shaped by God’s Word.

James touches on this when he says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). It’s easy to show up, sit through the service, sing the songs, and leave, feeling like we’ve done our part. But God is calling us to take the truth of His Word and live it out. Worship is more than just an act we perform once a week; it’s the way we live every day. If our rituals or traditions don’t help us become doers of God’s Word, then it’s time to rethink them.

The challenge here is to be open to change. If something’s not helping us grow, we need to let it go. That might be a tradition, a habit, or a mindset we’ve been holding onto because it feels comfortable or familiar. But God is more concerned with our hearts than our routines. In Romans 12:2, Paul tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We’re not supposed to let our minds be shaped by tradition, by culture, or by the way things have always been. We’re supposed to let God’s Word renew us, to transform us so we can live in a way that reflects His will.

The key here is to keep evaluating our practices and traditions, not to just do things because that’s the way it’s always been. Worship should make us more like Christ, and if what we’re doing isn’t pointing us back to Him, it’s time to reconsider. Tradition isn’t bad, but it becomes a problem when it takes the place of real relationship with God.

Look at the early church in Acts 2. They weren’t focused on keeping up a certain tradition or ritual; they were focused on the Word, on fellowship, on breaking bread together, and on prayer. It was about being transformed by the gospel, not just by the structure of the service. Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” This wasn’t about following a script; it was about living out the reality of God’s presence in their lives.

We have to ask ourselves the same question today: Are our traditions drawing us closer to Christ, or are they just distractions? Are we stuck in old routines that aren’t helping us grow, or are we willing to shake things up and focus on what really matters? We have the opportunity to live out a vibrant, transformative faith every day. The question is, are we letting our traditions get in the way of that?

If we really want to see change, it starts with looking at our hearts. True worship isn’t about checking off boxes—it’s about genuinely engaging with God, living out His Word, and allowing Him to transform us from the inside out. As we do that, we’ll see that the gospel isn’t bound by tradition or rituals—it’s alive, and it’s meant to transform us into the image of Christ.

Let’s not just go through the motions. Let’s get real with our faith, and ask God to move in a fresh way in our hearts. The world doesn’t need more rituals—it needs the living gospel that changes lives.

Anna M. Hazen  2000 (revised 2023) 

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