We've Always Done It That Way

“He told them this parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’” 
– Luke 5:36-39 NIV

The comment …“But we’ve always done it that way…” has always been one of my biggest Pet Peeves.

Whether at my work place, in the marketplace or at home with my girls, it’s a comment that just makes me cringe… and in a flash brings to mind as many questions my inquisitive, cynical and sarcastic brain can handle in a short period of time (30 seconds or less):

• If we’ve always done it that way, then how do we know something else won’t work better… faster… be more effective?

• If we’ve always done it that way how do we know that we aren’t missing something better and greater?

• Why have we always done it that way?

• What has caused us to keep doing it that way?

• Is another way wrong or bad… or just different?

• Is it a “comfort zone” issue?

• Do we continue to do it because it is “tradition” or “hallowed ground”, or is there another reason?

• Does “always” mean “best”… or just “easiest?”

• Does the fact that we’ve always done it that way mean that we’ve never tried anything else?

• If the regulatory world changed tomorrow would we still do it that way?

• If money didn’t matter would we still do it that way?

• If you or your manager were no longer here, would we still do it that way?

• Are we robots or can we think for ourselves?

• Do we care or have we just accepted?

• We’ve always done it that way? Maybe that’s the problem… we’ve ALWAYS done it that way.

• Who are we missing because “we’ve always done it this way?

Now, I’m sure that I could come up with more if I allowed myself more time… 

But changing the tone, there’s one more question that could lead to many more…

What if “But we’ve always done it that way…” has entered the church… your church… my church… the church in general and as a whole?

Would that be because we are worshiping tradition or religion instead of Jesus?

Seems to me that we would want to find new ways to reach the lost with the everlasting truth instead of being stuck in the 60's or 70's, or 80’s or 90’s, or 00’s or 10’s… or stuck in today for that matter.

You see, we live in an everchanging culture that is in desperate need of Jesus, the everlasting truth… And if we get stuck in the “But we’ve always done it this way” mentality then we are going to miss people… even generations.

Just as the Lord greets us fresh and new every morning, we need not be afraid of trying new things… finding new ways… coming up with fresh ideas on how to reach a lost and dying world…

And get away from the “But we’ve always done it this way” and get back to worshiping the One and Only way…

Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem.

“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance–now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” – Hebrews 9:15 NIV