People Are More Important

In most things, I tend to be pretty modern and progressive.

I’m quick to change, adapt, and embrace the new.

However, there is one thing I get all traditional about…

I’m talking about my family’s Christmas traditions.

I look forward to them and I don’t want anybody messing with ‘em.

It makes me irritable when someone (not gonna name names here) suggests we change up how we exchange Christmas gifts. SHARI.

I always fight to protect and preserve our family Christmas traditions.

Last year, something happened—we broke tradition.

We didn’t celebrate Christmas at my parents house and my mom didn’t cook the Christmas dinner.

Instead, we celebrated Christmas in a conference room…

At the hospital.

You see, my mom was fighting for her life. Her kidneys had failed. The doctors were trying to figure out what was going on and why. She was in the hospital for weeks—and she had to be there on Christmas day.

So we did something different. We had our family Christmas gathering in a hospital conference room.

And it was nice.

Nobody complained.

Not even me—Mr. Defender of our family Christmas tradition.

Why?

Because we cared more about my mom than what we’re “supposed to be doing” on Christmas.

Because people are more important than our traditions.

In Luke chapter 6, the religious leaders got upset with Jesus because he violated their traditions…

Jesus and his disciples were hungry, so they harvested some grain to eat on the Sabbath.

On another Sabbath day, Jesus healed a man in the synagogue.

This made the religious leaders mad. Furious actually.

Both of these actions were considered “work” by them.

And working on the Sabbath was against the rules.

It violated their traditions.

The religious leaders cared more about their traditions than they did about people.

That’s just cold and ridiculous. Can you imagine me yelling at my mom for ruining my special Christmas traditions?

I hope not.

If I ever did something like that, someone should slap me.

People are more important than our traditions!

Maybe you’re like me in some areas—modern and progressive.

But maybe you’re also like me in other areas, all traditional—you feel like fighting to protect and preserve your favorite traditions.

Sometimes, people do this in church life…

“Everyone must wear their Sunday best. We need to sing more hymns. No hats in the sanctuary.”

These are traditions—and some of us love ‘em.

But people should always be more important to us.