A Time for Everything

I've gotten into a bad habit of starting posts and not finishing them. This is one I started earlier this week that will probably never end up getting completed. But please enjoy it anyway! God bless.


Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

This is one of my favorite Bible passages. Often we forget that sometimes it is okay to do one thing at one time and another thing at another time. 

For example, laughter. "A time to weep and a time to laugh." Laughter is such a good thing; a beautiful gift from God. How thoughtful and kind of him to give us such a thing! Imagine a world with no humor, a world where we could not express ourselves if something brought us joy. It's such a small thing, but such a huge thing and most people would agree with me that it is not a bad thing, but a good one. However, in certain situations, we all know that it is inappropriate to laugh. Seeing someone get hurt, watching someone cry, feeling rather down yourself... laughing is not the answer. But crying might be. Crying is also a good thing. I'm sure almost all of you have experienced a crying experience that brought you much relief and even comfort. And on the other hand, and this is less heard of I would think, one ought not to cry when it is a happy time (unless they're happy tears.) There comes a point where you need to release yourself from your misery and laugh again, let your tears dry.

Other "times" in this passage might be harder to understand. "A time to love and a time to hate." Really?? Isn't every time a time to love? When would it be appropriate to hate?

Let me answer that with another question. When would it be appropriate to love sin? When would it be appropriate to love hatred itself? When would it be appropriate to love ugliness, cruelty, or violence? When would it be appropriate to love death?

And yet, there is "a time to be born and a time to die." Ah, death, what a sticky topic. Some would call this the "circle of life," but I think there's more to it than that.