Thoughts for another day

Oct. 28, 2013.

Today's verse: Mark 7:8. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, (KJV)

(Pls. read the above before you read further.  Thanks)

It’s indeed surprising that we the children of God, knowing His ways and walking in His light, still resort to do things that are of no consequence but ignore the commandment of God.  Even sincere, polite and gentle Christians do this; and either don’t course correct when told or adamantly hold on to their beliefs and persist in doing what they want to do.

This implies scant regard for God and disrespect to His holiness and His right ways, an insolence against God, requiring repentance.  A classic example the Lord gives us to this attitude is in the parable He narrates of the good Samaritan.  In it we see two people who know the commandment of God well, yet look not at the spirit of the commandment.  A key essential of the spirit of the commandment of God is, ‘love thy neighbor.’   But do they do that?  Rather the tradition they grew up with of not becoming unclean is too heavy on their hearts, not the meat of the commandment of helping the man.  Both walk their ways, leaving the man on the road, attacked and injured to fend for himself. 

Such is the behavior of people even today, particularly in the city of Mumbai where I live.  A man may lie injured, dying in the middle of the road, but no one looks at him; another may be screaming for help being attacked by muggers, yet no one bothers to help because their tradition insists that they keep away from these things lest they fall into trouble.  So deep rooted is the attitude to not inconvenience self, that often we learn of deaths or tragedies resulting from the callousness of people, because of their tradition; to the end that men die and perish, but tradition holds!  Wonder what God above is thinking about it…yet, I know that in each situation, He is expecting me to break the mould and move into uncharted areas for the reason of the love He has put in my heart and put on the mantle of the good Samaritan and be a source of help to others, rather than become a holy ‘Joe’, deep rooted in tradition, but empty in terms of God and His ways.