Command #63 - Do Not be Diverted by Externals, Traditions, and Doctrines, But Look to the Heart

The passage from Mark 7 concerning the pharisaic worship of the letter of the law, as manifested by an obsession with clean cups and bowls and hands, gives a singularly important teaching in all the Gospels. Jesus here addresses an inevitable tendency in all religions--the susceptibility of truth to degenerate into doctrines and legalisms, defined by what Jesus calls the "traditions of the elders" rather than by constantly renewing reality.  

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.