Do we hold others accountable to GOD according to OUR STANDARDS? Mark 7

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good. TOO BLESSED TO COMPLAIN!!

   In Mark 7 Jesus is with HIS disciples, AND, the church leaders are following Him.  Why would they be following Jesus?  They did not like what HE was saying and wanted to trap Him, then be rid of Him.  So here they are and what happens?

Mark 7: The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ² and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. ⁴ When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

   The Pharisees had created more than the laws of Moses and when they washed their hands prior to eating they had to do it in a certain way.  They had to have a certain amount of water in their hands and when washing the water had to run down past the wrist for their hands to be "clean" and "undefiled" according to their tradition.  Then they spoke to Jesus.

⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
  Notice - live according to the tradition - take this thought for a moment and think about it. TRADITION!  How often do we hold others to our standards.  When we go to church are we projecting our personal standards onto others - holding them accountable to us rather than to God?
   Hmmm!  Think about this for a moment.  Here are some responses you may have heard through the years:  If the preacher does not wear a suit I won't attend that church?  (What?)  Cover your tattoos we don't want the youth to think tattoos are okay! (Really?)  People should wear their Sunday best, dresses and shirts and ties. (Seriously?)  I am certain you have heard many other "personal" concerns of how others should be accountable according to personal beliefs.
   The Pharisee had a lot of "dumb" traditions that they tried to hold the people accountable that were not God's doing at all, but personal.  A couple examples of the Pharisees "traditions."  On the Sabbath you could not carry a handerchief as you would be doing labor, BUT, if you wore it around your neck it was okay.
   Another, you could "spit" on the Sabbath, but if you rubbed or scuffed it into the ground it was a sin because you were doing "agriculture"; what?  These were some of the types of goofy TRADITIONS the Pharisees and church leaders had adopted.  And how did Jesus respond?  Well, let us visit about that tomorrow. Thank you for reading.  Love you all.
in Christ's Love and Grace
Johnny