Beware of Sacred Cows

 

By Andrea Merrell

Beware of … the deceptive teaching 

of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew 16: 11b-12b

“Wow, another sacred cow bites the dust,” my husband said as we left church one Sunday.

The sermon had centered around old, man-made traditions we had both been exposed to growing up. All the dos and don’ts (mostly don’ts) that had become etched in stone in certain religious settings.

The problem? None of them lined up with Scripture.

I thought back to my first memories of church as a child and all that I was taught. The “rules” so to speak. Unfortunately, over the years every church I attended seemed to have its own set of rules, causing even more confusion.

I always wondered who made those rules. And why did they differ so drastically? Just like the Pharisees and their man-made traditions, all those dos and don’ts revolved around a person’s actions. Their performance. How they dressed. How often they attended church. No tattoos. No piercings. No holey jeans. No smoking. No drinking. No R-rated movies. I once heard someone say if you go to a bar or a pool hall, you’re surely going to hell. I even heard a preacher ranting online recently about conducting church services “in the dark,” as he put it, and having a rock band on the platform. Drums, it seemed to him, were of the Devil.

Many years ago, I heard the story of a church that split over men wearing ties and another over women wearing makeup and jewelry. Jesus warned the religious leaders of His day about coming up with their own rules.

In Jesus Calling, Sarah Young writes:

Do not be like the Pharisees who multiplied regulations, creating their own form of godliness. They got so wrapped up in their own rules that they lost sight of Me. Even today, man-made rules about how to live the Christian life enslave many people. Their focus is on their performance rather than on Me. ~Jesus

Thankfully, God is the only true Judge, and He looks at the heart—not on what we do or don’t do. When we try to live by man’s opinions and standards rather than God’s Word we end up in bondage, always dealing with guilt and condemnation while trying to measure up.

God never intended for us to live that way. Instead of playing by the rules, let's allow the Holy Spirit to be our guide. He will always lead us in the right direction.

Photo by Diana Shchurova on Unsplash