Mark 7:8-9
““You leave the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.””
This passage is from the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and scribes, religious leaders of his day. They had questioned his disciples about not following certain ceremonial washing traditions, and Jesus responds by critiquing their priorities.
What criteria might help a community evaluate its deeply held practices, distinguishing between those that uplift and those that might inadvertently overshadow core purposes?