Today’s innovation is tomorrow’s tradition”. - Lidia Bastianich
We live in an age of innovation, new ideas, products, technologies and systems. Economic growth and its sustenance is driven by innovation.
Innovators are encouraged to continual think outside the box in a quest for creativity, largely drawn from the speed at which human attention is easily lost for the old and always in search for something new, fresh and captivating.
I really believe that innovation is the key to human progress. Those that fail to innovate are left behind because the stagnate, decline and final die.
In this New Year, one needs to constantly innovate because you will not change your results if you don't change your methods.
That been said, I found out that as powerful as innovation is, there’s a stronger force that hampers it in some ways or another.
This is the force of tradition.
Traditions are habits, practices, and institutions that preserve the continuities and orthodoxies and ‘staying things’ of humanity.
Though these are the things that strengthens tradition, they at the same time, stand in the way of innovation.
It might seem that they, tradition and innovation, are incompatible. However, when properly understood, and put in perspective; one will discover that they are compatible.
While the latter is a ‘change-driver’, the other drives continuity.
Tradition becomes a stronghold when we are stuck with the medium or system of deployment rather than its essence.
We see the pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples for forsaking the traditions of their fathers regarding defilement in Matthew 15:1-2.
Jesus tried to help them glean into what defilement is, in essence, as He pointed them back to the crux of the matter.
Matthew 15:3 (NLT)
Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions (method of deployment), violate the direct commandments of God (the old, the essence, the original, the true tradition)?
From that verse, Jesus drew their attention away from the system or method introduced by their fathers (traditions of men) and turned them towards the essence, ‘the reason why’.
In another instance, Paul drew the attention of the church in Thessaloniki to this reason which he called tradition (the essence).
2 Thessalonians 3:6 (KJV)
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
What tradition was he speaking about? The tradition Paul speaks of is the essence (i will come back to this) but deployed through innovation (note that).
Hebrews 10:20 (KJV)
By a new and living way (innovation), which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Don’t get confused now, I will try my best to explain starting with this verse from the scriptures:
Romans 7:6 (NLT)
But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
Wow!
The Law was the old deployment method;
Grace is the new method of deployment.
Question is what is been deployed????
That one thing that remains CONSTANT:
- SERVING GOD!
- WORSHIP!
- GLORIFYING GOD!
This is what i call the ESSENCE or the TRUE TRADITION.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism first question is:
What is the Chief end of Man?
The answer is - ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever’.
Why do you think Adam was created?
God looked forward to hanging out with him at the cool of the evening. He came down for man to enjoy Him. This enjoyment was meant to last forever until the fall.
The fall hurt God more than it did man. So God rolled out Plan C - an innovative plan at that time, which will suffice until the fullness of time is come.
The Law!
The Law, was God adapting to the fall of man. And in other for Him to continue a relationship with the fallen man, He innovated, until the appointed time when the ‘original’ will be restored.
When the time was fully come, God rolled out another innovative plan, a better plan than Plan C. This plan blind-sided satan, he couldn’t decipher it. The plan formulated before the foundation of the world, thus, making it the PLAN 'A'.
Jesus came as the arrow-head of this innovative plan to restore man back to the original, which existed at the beginning in the garden (tradition).
I want you to ponder on this:
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. - Revelation 13:8
If the lamb was slain at earth’s formation, Was Jesus really an arrow-head of innovation?
This brings us to the point I want to make. I believe they are linked.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NLT)
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
Truly nothing is new, innovation is the channel or pathway of deploying the old, differently. - Chukwudum Obi
Hobsbawm in his Introduction to Classic Anthology, advanced the notion of ‘invented tradition’. In its original Latin usage, to “innovate” was to renew or reform, not to start afresh.
The prefix ‘re’ is key, a repeat of what has been done or already in existence.
Innovation is breaking the limits of the old. It is an endeavour to do the old, in a better way. This is the philosophy I believe we should have towards innovation. It does not discard the old or the essence, it delivers it in a better way.
Innovation is actually adaptation to current challenges, that’s why am so positive about challenges because, something better will emanate from it if we don't give up.
A lot of wealthy people today became rich because they were driven by their poverty.
Isaac didn’t go digging a new well, he just re-opened, re-stored, re-dug the ones the father has dug previously.
Genesis 26:18 (NLT)
He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham’s death. Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them.
The preacher put it aptly:
Ecclesiastes 1:10 (NLT)
Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.
This is understood clearly using fashion trends, what your parents wore in their hay-days have returned a couples of times in your generation.
The new is just a re-mix of the old. Hollywood is catch on too as well. Re-mastering old stories (movies) and bringing them to the wide screen with new, trendy technologies.
What makes innovation appear new is our short memory span, and laziness to seek new means and methods of deployment:
Ecclesiastes 1:11
We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
I need to end this now, I guess what I have being saying with many words is:
Don’t fret, God has got you covered. Nothing life throws at takes in my surprise he had already pre-arranged programmed innovative miracles to take you to the plan and purpose He already predestined for you.
It is in His tradition (which is forever settled) that you prosper and be in health, that you reach an expected end, that you cannot die but live to testify of His glory & Goodness.
As you drive through life constantly innovating, never forget His promises of love for you.
As we drive through life looking through the windshield of innovation, we must never lose sight of tradition in our rear view.
In this New Year, i need you to embrace change.
Without change, change doesn't come. Without change, everything remains the same. With change, no progress is made.
It is time for next level.
Change!
Innovate!
💗
See you at the next one! Click to listen.
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