A very interesting illustration of how many carnal Christians view the importance of tradition, Scripture, and God in their daily walk.

False Priorities

Richard Rohr, an American Franciscan priest, often uses the tricycle as a way of prioritizing the Christian faith journey. In his opinion, the front wheel is our experience with God, and the two back wheels are Scripture (Bible) and church tradition. Rohr says that Catholics have put too much weight on church tradition, and Protestants, too much on Scripture. He sees it all as vital for one to have healthy spirituality.

My Response

Christian traditions should hold no place (i.e., wheel) beyond Biblical teachings, nor should any false intercessory human priest or pastor. Further, Scripture represents the only firm foundation Christians can rely on, as it is unchanging and not influenced by our sin nature or the floating aspects of our inconsistent faith. 

The front wheel should be the Bible, as it has drive pedals and is directed by the steering handlebars (the Triune God should steer, not man). As Biblical Christians, we need to turn over the steering wheel of our lives to God through Christ and the Helper, the Holy Spirit, so that when we pedal (do good works), we do so in the direction He calls us to rather than making up our own religion based on our personal views and traditions.  

The front wheel is the only one we can trust to steer the tricycle in the right direction. The back two wheels are our faith, hope, and trust in God on one side and Christian teaching, fellowship, and prayer on the other. They need to be driven by the front wheel since Satan (2 Corinthians 11:14) and our sin nature (1 John 1:8) can trick us if we allow them to. Those back wheels are intended to keep us in balance as we drive forward using the Bible as God’s love letter and instruction manual for life.

Summary point

If we don’t let God steer, we may pedal hard but in the wrong direction. We can also steer correctly by reading His Word, but without taking action we fail as His ambassadors.