One of my favourite movies is “Fiddler on the Roof“. I love the music and the story, until the end when they are cast away from their homes.

Tevye’s first song is “Traditions” in which he sings about the way it is and how things have been done the same way for a long time, why change, this is how it works and  as far as they are concerned it works well.

Then he is faced with challenges concerning his traditions, that being the marriage of his 3 eldest daughters .  The first one pledging herself to her intended (a poor tailor instead of a wealthy man) without the “Papas” approval.

The second one marrying a new ideas educated Jew who was fighting for the rights and freedom of the Jews in Russia.  They told the “Papa” they were marrying without his permission  – another break in tradition.

Then there was the 3rd daughter who ended up marrying a man who wasn’t a Jew behind her “Papas ” back and was excommunicated from her family and her friends, it was as if she had died.

You can see how with each daughters marriage the “Papa” bent just a little bit and then a little bit more, he struggled with the traditions of his faith and his cultural ways.

What traditions do we carry out because it has been done that way for years?

Maybe it’s attending the same church because our family does. Maybe it’s just attending because it’s a family tradition not because of a living faith.

Maybe you send your kids to a certain school or college because it’s the place where so many family members have attended or maybe you don’t eat red meat on Fridays. There are so many things we do out of tradition, without questioning,

I have been doing a lot of thinking on this topic lately and I think some family traditions are great, daily devotions, meal times together, teaching our children about God and encouraging their own relationship with our Lord.

I also think that we should continually challenge ourselves on our faith and our lives to make sure we are truly connected to God and His leading in our lives, not just living out of our families traditions or our own, and as it says in Philippians 2:12 let us work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Romans 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 

You will find me linked up at some of these great blogs.