Tradition, Culture, or Art?
because it seems harmless…
' “Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before— do not listen to them. The Lord your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul. Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.
“The Lord your God will be merciful only if you listen to his voice and keep all his commands that I am giving you today, doing what pleases him.' Deuteronomy 13:1-4,18
when we were kids, my brother, sister, and i had to go to the chinese temple to burn incense, prayers, lion and dragon dances. we had to bow to buddha and other statutes, bunch of chanting (although i had no idea what the monks were doing or saying), also gathering with other families to eat and hang out. i guess you could say it was a social or sorts.
even though we did these things, it was for cultural reasons rather than believing in a deity or the religion itself as we never “practiced” it in any formal way. my memory doesn’t serve me well enough to remember if we had any figurines at home - mainly i don’t believe we did.
fast forward today, the challenge is in my own home. sachi is from japan and she has a shrine from there for ceremonially reasons for her 1st husband and mother who passed away. while i did participate in burning incense out of respect for him in the first few years we had our home, i stopped entirely years ago when i was unsure if it was considered idol worship. not that i was walking away from believing that Jesus is the Only Way - it was the burning of incense and bowing to an ‘alter’ that concerned me. because i know the Truth, i decided to stop.
while i’m not led astray by so-called “prophets” and other people with strange teachings outside of The Bible, you simply must be aware that it does exist and can easily lead you down the wrong path.
i do feel that if i were or have been tested by God on where my heart truly lies, He would say that i do love our Lord Jesus. i, His sheep, do hear His voice and follows Him. my family and i have been shown mercy and grace, and there is no other that i dedicate and give my life to.
Father God, thank you for your mercy and grace. help me, help my family that we will not place anything above you. Jesus, please be the center of our lives and that our eyes would be fixed on you alone. grant us a hedge of protection to keep my family safe. in your mighty and powerful name i pray, amen!