One lawyer was reprimanded for wearing jeans in the courtroom. The judge of the Guwahati High Court remarked tomorrow it could be torn jeans, faded jeans, jeans with printed patches, and others. (India Today, 8 February 2024) There seems to be a conflict always between the traditions and trends. Younger people prefer to follow the trends, while older generations choose the traditions. Traditional culture and Trendy popular culture could dominate the world. But Christians follow neither, but the Truths revealed in the Scripture. Paul wrote to Romans not to follow the pattern, fashion, or trends of the world but instead do God’s will that is pleasing, good, and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
Rebel: Those who are legalistic about culture, will rebel, repulse, and rebuke the trends. In response, people who are of trends rebel and ignore the traditions. Christians are neither. They just look to the Scripture and do what is right in the sight of God. Hence, they are the salt of the earth and the world’s light. (Matthew 5:14-16)
Reject: Certain things are approved by traditional culture and asserted as trendy culture. For example, a girl must give a huge dowry to the groom for a good marriage to happen. This is approved by the society, though criminalized by the law of India. The young people make it trendy by hiking the dowry and adding many more components like a bike, a car, or a destination wedding. Christians reject dowry because their mind is renewed by the Word of God. Dowry is discrimination, distorts the relationship between husband and wife, and breeds greed, covetousness, consumerism, and materialism.
Re-purpose: There are some practices and behaviors that are good, honoring God, and beneficial to humans. There may not be direct command or principle in the Bible. Then they are repurposed for the Kingdom of God. For Levites, their service was up to 50 years. But kings served for a lifetime. Different cultures, organizations, and governments have a variety of ages for retirement. After formal retirement, people could serve the Lord.
Do I choose truth over tradition and trends?