Have you ever found yourself caught in the embrace of cherished traditions, those familiar threads weaving through the tapestry of your life?
The warmth of holiday memories, the joy of family gatherings—these traditions often feel like an integral part of who we are. But in the gentle balance between faith and tradition, a thought emerges:
Can we, in our heartfelt attempts, turn what God deems as bad into something good?
Christmas, and many holiday traditions common to Christians today, serve as powerful examples. There are many traditions of pagan origin. Many don’t know this and don’t even think to ask or test their traditions. Many more do know the traditions are of pagan origin, but convince themselves that we can turn what God said was bad into something good by associating Christmas traditions with Jesus.
Is this true? What does God say in the Bible?
📜 Lessons from Exodus: A Warning Echoes Through Time
Picture this: A people, just liberated from slavery, witnessing the miraculous hand of God through ten plagues and also miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, the defeat of Pharaoh’s army, God appearing as fire and smoke to lead them, manna and water miraculously to meet their needs in the dessert.
Surely, we would think that generation could never turn from the ways of God, but they did. They allowed themselves to revert to influences from the Egyptian culture in which they had lived for generations and worship the Golden Calf.
But if we look closer, they were not worshipping Egyptian gods, but Yahweh! They called it a feast unto Yahweh who led them out of Egypt.
Did this effort to tie pagan traditions with worshipping Yahweh turn what was bad in God’s eyes to something good?
The Golden Calf
1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8“They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10“Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”
Clearly God was not pleased and did not consider it good to worship along pagan customs like the golden calf… even if the people were attributing it to Yahweh.
Have you ever found yourself holding tight to holiday traditions that you know are of pagan origin, but making excuses for why they are good because we have tied them to Jesus?
Despite your good intentions, it may be time to ask yourself if what you are doing aligns with God’s desires.
📖 Scriptural Clarity: Yahweh’s Unchanging Standard
In the sacred verses of Deuteronomy 12:30-32, a timeless truth resounds. The Israelites, worshipping Yahweh through the Golden Calf, mirrored the detestable practices of pagan nations and God was not pleased.
Can we glean insights into God’s unchanging expectations for our worship and traditions today?
30beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ 31“You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
32“Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
The Israelites may have been worshipping Yahweh, but they were doing so in like manner to how the Egyptians worshipped their false gods by making idols.
Yahweh has not changed His opinion on what is good and what is bad. He still does not want us to worship Him with idols or with any of the manners or traditions with which the pagans worship false gods.
If we take the time to study our common Christmas and Easter traditions (and other traditions as well), we will certainly find the history of many of these traditions are derived not from God’s word, but from pagan worship practices.
Christians have created new meanings for many of these traditions and tried to tie them to Jesus, as the Israelites tied worshipping God to the golden calf, but they still are derived from pagan worship.
As we saw in scripture with the golden calf, Yahweh is not pleased, even if we say it is Him whom we are worshipping.
Do not repeat the error of the Israelites, which drew great anger from Yahweh. Instead, learn the history and true origin of the traditions you practice. Reject the ones that are derived from pagan worship. Do not accept something just because it is a family or cultural “tradition”.
Test and explore to understand the true origin and whether or not it may be offensive to our Lord.
Do not fool yourself that you can take what is bad in His eyes and make it good by creating new Christian stories around old pagan traditions. Choose the Lord’s ways over even dear traditions that may be emotionally difficult to walk away from.
Do not be like Lot’s wife who looked back at Sodom while leaving, but rather leave behind the past things without looking back on them.
I invite you to pray with me:
Father, please lead and guide Your people. Help us to have discernment and courage. Help us to be hungry to seek Your ways and quick to challenge our own traditions against Your holy word in the Bible. Help us learn from the Israelites history documented in the scriptures that we cannot turn what is bad into good. We can simply choose whether or not to turn away from what is bad toward Your ways. Amen.
May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you.
John
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