One of the Czars of Russia was walking with his aid through a park. They saw a sentry standing by a patch of weeds. The Czar asked, "What are you doing here?" The sentry said, "I don't know, I've been ordered to my post by the captain of the guard." Well, the Czar's curiosity was aroused so he said to his aid, "Go to the captain of the guard and find out why he's here." The Captain said, "Well, I don't know why he's there, but regulations call for a soldier to be standing there."This indeed perplexed the Czar and he ordered an investigation. After the archives were searched, it was found that the Great Katherine, more than 100 years before had planted a rose bush on that plot of ground. She had a sentry posted there so nobody would trample on it. The rose bush had died but they failed to cancel the order for the sentry to watch it. For more than 100 years a soldier was guarding a plot of ground, not knowing what he was guarding.
Does that lesson in Russian history cause you to question whether we should blindly follow every tradition? Today there are 1000's of teachers, yes even preachers, who are guarding what they think is a sacred truth and it is only a plaque of tradition.
