Have you ever heard the phrase, "Because it's always been done that way"? It's a phrase that the artist in me completely chafes against. In fact, the rebel, musician in me hears those words and my first thought is, "Then I'm gonna do it different." Now I have respect for authority, rules, traditions and guidelines, but when this phrase is used as an ignorant disregard to proper explanation, I puke... in side, not literally.
In my opinion, "outside the box" thinking is more common today than it has been in the past. Generations of rebels (I'm looking at you Baby Boomers) have been leading this country now for a while but a call to revolution and rethinking and reinventing is needed today. What is common today was once a revolution. Next time you go to make popcorn, think about what you are doing and how you are going to make it. A revolution in the kitchen began decades ago with microwave ovens and now we can cook our popcorn in less time than it takes for you to listen to your favorite song on your Zune (I am counter-mainstream and rebelled against the iPod). Who doesn't have a micro in their house?
My Mentor led this same type of counter-culture movement and faced off against His modern contemporaries constantly insisting that things were about to change.
When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, His very educated questioners were attempting to trick Him. So He responded with a simple- Love God; Love People. These very educated teachers had heard Jesus spreading some new thoughts on what it means to follow and obey God and they didn't like it because that's not how they have done it. It was like they were saying, "But that's not how Moses did it," or "That's not what Rabbi ________ says." In fact, when Jesus started His career as Revolutionary, he started it on a mountainside by telling his followers that people who mourn, who are humble, who seek peace, who show mercy, who are persecuted for doing the right thing- these are the people that will live in the presence of God forever. That was in stark contrast to anyone's thinking at that time. In His day, only the priests and teachers of the Law were "good enough" and everyone else had to follow the strict rules of the church. Sound familiar? Do we have any churches today that look like this? Do you go to a church where the predominant teaching is to follow rules, do certain tasks and perform certain rituals? Have you ever asked anyone to explain these rituals to you and all you get in response is, "because we have always done it this way?"
Now, I am in no way demeaning the rituals in churches across the world or the good discipline that a lot of these customs can encourage. However, we need to ask ourselves why we do such things and we need to be honest with ourselves about why we do them.
Back to Jesus.
Jesus gets done with His list of highly favored people and begins to redefine what it means to follow God and what it will cost to follow Him. He starts with the phrase, "You have heard it said, but I tell you." He is telling His followers that although they are familiar with the Law, Jesus has a new interpretation that more accurately describes the type of life that pleases God. He is telling them that just because they have always done things that way doesn't mean that they need to continue. Jesus came to bring us a new way of life. A way of life that helps us heal the brokenness that we see everyday. A way of life that brings Heaven to earth.
In my opinion, "outside the box" thinking is more common today than it has been in the past. Generations of rebels (I'm looking at you Baby Boomers) have been leading this country now for a while but a call to revolution and rethinking and reinventing is needed today. What is common today was once a revolution. Next time you go to make popcorn, think about what you are doing and how you are going to make it. A revolution in the kitchen began decades ago with microwave ovens and now we can cook our popcorn in less time than it takes for you to listen to your favorite song on your Zune (I am counter-mainstream and rebelled against the iPod). Who doesn't have a micro in their house?
My Mentor led this same type of counter-culture movement and faced off against His modern contemporaries constantly insisting that things were about to change.
When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, His very educated questioners were attempting to trick Him. So He responded with a simple- Love God; Love People. These very educated teachers had heard Jesus spreading some new thoughts on what it means to follow and obey God and they didn't like it because that's not how they have done it. It was like they were saying, "But that's not how Moses did it," or "That's not what Rabbi ________ says." In fact, when Jesus started His career as Revolutionary, he started it on a mountainside by telling his followers that people who mourn, who are humble, who seek peace, who show mercy, who are persecuted for doing the right thing- these are the people that will live in the presence of God forever. That was in stark contrast to anyone's thinking at that time. In His day, only the priests and teachers of the Law were "good enough" and everyone else had to follow the strict rules of the church. Sound familiar? Do we have any churches today that look like this? Do you go to a church where the predominant teaching is to follow rules, do certain tasks and perform certain rituals? Have you ever asked anyone to explain these rituals to you and all you get in response is, "because we have always done it this way?"
Now, I am in no way demeaning the rituals in churches across the world or the good discipline that a lot of these customs can encourage. However, we need to ask ourselves why we do such things and we need to be honest with ourselves about why we do them.
Back to Jesus.
Jesus gets done with His list of highly favored people and begins to redefine what it means to follow God and what it will cost to follow Him. He starts with the phrase, "You have heard it said, but I tell you." He is telling His followers that although they are familiar with the Law, Jesus has a new interpretation that more accurately describes the type of life that pleases God. He is telling them that just because they have always done things that way doesn't mean that they need to continue. Jesus came to bring us a new way of life. A way of life that helps us heal the brokenness that we see everyday. A way of life that brings Heaven to earth.
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composed by
dave
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