A Weekly Walk in the Word
with Wanda
Tradition
Matthew 15:3-9 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ he is not to ‘honor his father’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of god for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”
Over the years, in our home we have created several Christmas traditions – from specific cookies to a new ornament on the tree to matching handmade pajamas to open as the first gift on Christmas Eve. They started out as fun Christmastime activities, but a few have turned into monsters. Now that our children are in college or living on their own, I have decided to eliminate the monsters and focus on the meaningful.
One of the traditions that has been altered in our home is that Santa no longer brings underwear, socks and trinkets for the stockings. Instead he gives books and uniforms to children in India, he gives mosquito nets, he gives chicks, sheep and pigs to provide families living in poverty a better future. Our kids love it! This is a tradition we will continue for many years.
As our children grow and our parents age it is important to take a step back to look at the traditions we have created to evaluate if our traditions draw us to Jesus or distract us from celebrating His birth.
I would love to hear feedback from you on your favorite Christmas traditions.
Have a blessed, peaceful Christmas season!
A Weekly Walk in the Word 
Wanda, I love reading your “walks”…….hoping your Christmas is blessed!
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