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Home > Michelle's Blog > Previous Postings > 11/09/07
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Previous Postings |
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November 09, 2007:
TraditionDear "Michelle Blog" Readers,
My last Blog titled "Bless me Father for I have Changed" caused many responses from my readers. One in particular I thought I would share with you. This is from Duane Strickler at American Pride Coop in Brighton, Colorado.
Have fun reading!
MichelleTradition:
I strongly recall a sermon I heard from one of my favorite, if not the favorite, all-time pastors I have had, Pastor David Nitz. The subject was tradition, especially in churches, and how blindly following tradition could blindly lead us in the wrong direction. Why? Because we are to focus on God, not on doing the same old thing the same old way, whether we need to or not.
Pastor Nitz told a story about a newlywed couple. The young bride wanted to impress her new husband with her culinary skills and chose to bake a ham, as her family had baked the best of hams for generations. True to her intuition, the young groom declared that it was the best ham he had ever eaten and he looked forward to all of the future blessings of her skills. Yet, something about the procedure aroused his curiosity so out it came, "Dear, I noticed before cooking this ham so deliciously that you cut both ends off of it. I was just wondering why?" The new bride was caught off guard because she had never thought about it before. She replied, "Because my mother does!"
A few days later the young couple was at her parents' house. With the question of cutting off the ends of the ham in mind, he spoke to his mother-in-law by saying, "You know, your daughter, my lovely bride, baked me the best ham I've ever tasted. I noticed that she cut both ends off before she placed it in the pan. When I asked why, she said it was because you do it. May I ask why you cut both ends off of the ham before you bake it?" And her reply was, "Because my mother does!"
So, the next week the young couple is at her grandparents' house. Still plagued by the desire to know, the young groom repeated his statement about his wife cutting of the ends of the ham and stated, "My wife says she does it because her mother does, and your daughter says it's because you do it. May I ask why you cut off the ends of the ham before you place it in the pan?" Somewhat astonished the grandmother boldly declares, "I did it because my pan was too small! I don't know why on earth those two are doing it!!!
And so, you now have an excellent idea of my opinion of tradition for the sake of tradition. If you don't know why and do it for the wrong reason, the benefits probably won't be there and, unfortunately, the disadvantages may be all you achieve. Only by knowing why we take certain actions can we evaluate progress to know to stay the course or make the necessary changes to enjoy the rewards that only come by reaching our goals.Best Wishes!
Duane