Those of you born later than 1970 may not get the title to this weeks blog. To the rest of us, it will make perfect sense.
There is a section of verses in the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 where Solomon begins to rehearse some of what he has discovered is true about life. He starts out by saying “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:” We tend to accept this at face value (as we should – it is the Bible after all) without giving it much thought. OR, we tend to focus on what we perceive as the positive aspects of this scripture. I have come to realize that we may be missing at least part of what wise old Solomon may have been trying to get through to us. He says starting in verse 2 that there is “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.” Wait a minute? There is a time to kill? There is a time to give up? There is a time to hate? I think some of us may have missed those when we read this the first time. What are those times?
In his book Necessary Endings, Dr. Henry Cloud explores the possibility that we sometimes hold onto things that we should not hold on to. Sometimes we miss the future because we are still clinging to the past. I think Solomon is saying this in these verses. Sometimes, we have to allow some things to die so that there can be a birth. Sometimes we need to allow something in our lives to be uprooted so that something else can be planted. There are times when we need to tear some things down so that something better can be built. We like the idea of something being birthed in us, don’t we? We get happy when we talk about something being planted, or something being built. We’re usually not so enthusiastic about something dying, being uprooted or torn down. And yet, that’s exactly what Solomon is saying here. It’s right there in the Bible. There is a time… to die. There is a time… to uproot. There is a time….”
Solomon also says that there is a time to weep and a time to mourn. Killing things in our lives is not always joyful for us. Uprooting destructive behavior may not be pleasant for us. Tearing down structures that we have built over years or even decades may not be pleasant for us, but God assures us through Solomon that there is a time for being sorrowful. Notice however, that in verse two, the being born comes before dying. Planting comes before uprooting. In verse 3 and 4, the order is reversed. There is a time to kill, but then a time to heal. After killing off some things that need to die, there is a time to heal. Healing usually takes time. I nearly cut my finger off in October of 2012. After nearly 9 months, it’s still healing. It didn’t heal overnight. Most of the time, when we have to do some killing off of things, it takes a while for complete healing to take place.
There is a time to tear down, then a time to rebuild. When we tear things down, they have often taken us quite some time to build. This often leads to the time of weeping or mourning that Solomon says will occur, but the time of rebuilding is usually so rewarding that it’s worth the pain of tearing down. Have you ever lost something in your life that you thought was irreplaceable, only to have it replaced by something better? I remember when my 8-track finally died. It was my friend. Then I discovered that the rest of the musical world had moved on since I had last purchased an audio device. Cassettes were now the rage, and I could even fast forward or rewind to a specific place in the song if I wanted. Of course, Cd’s came along, then mp3 players. How foolish would I be to still have an 8-track in my car?
After weeping and mourning come laughter and dancing. Most times, destruction, even of destructive behaviors, attitudes or actions, will cause us to mourn their loss. Unfortunately, we come to love some of the things that are the most harmful to us. I have learned though, that mourning the loss of something that has been destructive to my life has always been followed by the realization that I am much better off without it.
In Verse 6, Solomon says that there is a time to search, and also a time to give up. Now, I’m not a quitter, but I have also discovered that some of the things I have been searching for need to remain hidden. Some of my pursuits in life are not ones that would keep me in a position to do what God has called me to do. I would not fulfill my mission on earth if I were to discover some of the things that I have spent many years searching for. What are you looking for that you just need to give up on and trust God? A husband or wife? A better job? Sometimes, there is a time to give up and allow God to work it out for you. As Solomon says, there is a time to search. This may be your time to continue searching, but you must realize that there also comes a time when a continued search will only drain resources that you don’t have. There is a time to give up.
I may continue this in a future post, but let me end with a time to keep and a time to throw away. Some of us have met hoarders. Some of you may be hoarders. Hoarding comes from the thought “I may need this someday”. And so nothing is ever discarded because of the perception that it may be necessary in the future. What are you holding on to that you need to get rid of? What are you “hoarding” in your life with the thought that it may be necessary someday? Is there a relationship that you feel may come in handy in the future, but in the present it is clogging up your life? Is there an activity or even a hobby that you are holding on to because it may be useful in the future, but in the present leaves you with little time to engage in your purpose in the present?
Solomon says that there are different seasons in our lives. This may be your season to plant. It may be your season to uproot. It may be your season of birth. It may also be your season to kill something in your life. It could be your season to build something new, or, it could be your season to tear something down. What season are you in right now? Don’t be afraid to kill, tear down or uproot because there are also seasons of birth, building and planting. What needs to die in your life so that something can be born? What do you need to uproot so that something better can be planted? What needs torn down so that something better can be built in its place? It’s time to live in your season.