“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions” (Mark 7:8, NIV).

He stopped me in church and told me a story from his younger days: “When I was newly married, they found a hole in my heart they needed to repair. Dr. Garret, who was the first to do major open heart surgery in Memphis, Tennessee. did the repair. I remember waking up from surgery and having tubes everywhere. I could not talk with the pipe down my throat. A nice nurse came in the check on me, and all I could do was nod my head. She smiled when she left and turned off the lights and then flipped another switch that turned off my ventilator. I shook the bed rails like crazy until she noticed what she had done.”

How often do I honor God’s wisdom but then take it one step forward with my own and ruin it?

For Jesus, this was really a problem with the Pharisees:

“You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down…” (Mark 7:9-13, NIV).

It’s like the nurse flipping the switch on my patient’s light so he could rest and then flipping the extra switch that turned off the ventilator. The Pharisees started with God’s truth and then added their harmful additions.

We are not free from such failure:

• We believe biblically that same-sex marriage is wrong, but we flip the extra switch and dislike persons attracted to the same sex.
• We know abortion is wrong but fail to care deeply for the unwed mother.
• We believe our nation’s borders should be strong but flip the extra switch and dislike immigrants.
• We believe Christ is the only way but flip the switch and distrust Muslims.
• We thank God for our financial blessings then spend it all on ourselves.
• We respect a patient’s right to privacy and then flip the extra switch and keep silent about our faith.

How many other ways?

We live our Christian lives with good intentions and good beliefs, but sometimes those beliefs lead to a reflex cultural action that negates their value for the Lord, and we nullify the wisdom of God by adding our own.

How do I fix this is my own life?

Perhaps I should walk closer to Christ each day, so I can better discern His whisper.

Perhaps I need to test my actions with God’s Word, more than adapting them to my culture.

Perhaps I need to listen to people who disagree with me and ask my Lord, “Could they be right?”

Dear Father,

Help me live your truth without nullifying it with my worldly wisdom.

Amen