The local High School in our area presented "Fiddler on a Roof", a play in which Tevya, a Jewish father, has his traditions challenged during the marriages of his three oldest daughters. Constantly Tevya must consider, what are the traditions of men and what are the indisputable commands of God. Every family and denomination have their own traditions based on the bias of the belief system they were raised under. When our children are young they must abide by all the traditions of their parents, for it is clearly taught throughout the scripture:

As our children mature, we, as parents must go beyond simple obedience, teaching the Biblical foundations of those traditions. Children need to know that God’s Word, not Dad’s word, is our sole authority:

As our children become young men and women they will begin to reconsider their parents traditions and will decide which traditions they will adopt for themselves. As parents we must again shift our focus, this time from teaching the Biblical foundations to instructing them on how to discern what God’s will is. Our children need to know that there are rules and traditions in our denominations which are not Biblical commands but rather scriptural principles. Commands are straight forward "do this"; while principles are general directions allowing for personal application. Biblical commands are none-negotiable, while principles allow you in sincerity to conclude this, while I with the same sincerity to conclude something different. Some traditions are made in an attempt to clarify disputable matters:

Differing application of Scriptural principles must never be used to judge someone. If we as parents judge another’s spirituality based on a different application of scriptural principles, our children will become judgmental. Have you every heard your children say something like, "They can’t be a Christian because they ride their bikes on Sunday^"(Ro.14:5-6)? God tells us that there will be differing applications of scriptural principles in the church:

We must make it unmistakably clear to our children that when the Bible specifically commands something of us, we do not have the option to tailor it to suit our personal preferences. We must stay within the confines of scripture as to whether it is a principle or command. Therefore let us teach our children as Paul taught the Corinthians: