Traditions

Consider the generations long past.
            —Deuteronomy 32:7

Traditions. Good or bad? Some are good: those that have their authority in scripture, as well as some family and organization traditions. Some are not good: outmoded responses to situations that no longer exist. In any case, this old saying holds true: “Never tear down a fence until you find out why it was built.”

It is arrogant to trash generational traditions as outmoded and outdated without knowing the reasons for their existence. You must know a tradition’s scriptural mandate or historical narrative to properly judge its relationship to the present.

The apostle Paul praised the Corinthians “for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you” (1 Cor 11:2).

Don’t tear down the fence until you know why it was built.

The new may be better than the old.
Or maybe not.

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