Kill and Heal

"There is a time for everything...a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build..." (Ecclesiastes 3:3).

This section of Ecclesiastes is made of up of this series of couplets, contrasting statements, often at opposite extremes, but the first one in this verse seems an odd match...a time to kill...a time to heal? I would have written, "A time to wound, and a time to heal." Those seem better paired together. But kill and heal? Once something is killed, there is no healing. Not at least on this side of eternity.

But the Teacher is not thinking other-worldly. He's not thinking, "Well, in heaven, all will be well. All will be made whole. All will be ultimately healed." That's true, when you read the whole Biblical record, but part of the "earthiness" of Ecclesiastes is that it is so rooted in the here and now. God's goodness and faithfulness must be seen here and now to be "real" to the Teacher. Maybe that's what makes this passage so popular; we want to know that God is working now, not "sometime, somewhere." So how, in this world, are "kill" and "heal" two sides of the same coin?

Consider the other couplet that follows this one: tear down and build. Perhaps, when the Teacher is writing "kill," he's not so much thinking of physical killing (after all, he stands in the great tradition of Deuteronomy 5:17, which tells us not to murder) but of destruction in general. Tearing down. Destroying. Breaking what was never intended to be broken. You could talk in terms of relationships, faith, families...the list could go on and on. There is a time when some times come to an end, and sometimes (very often in our world), it's not a pretty end. It's not a peaceful, quiet end. It feels like something has died, something has been killed.

And sometimes that has to happen for the health of those involved. There are friendships that turn toxic (more and more in this digital, social media-driven age). There are marriages that become abusive and dangerous. There are times when it is not good for either party to remain in relationship. That's not to say we don't work at it. Brokenness is not God's desire or design. But I've been in situations, and I'm betting you have too, where I've just had to push "pause" and walk away.

For a time.

There is a time for endings, and there is a time for new beginnings. There is a time to kill and a time to heal. The end of a relationship is never the end. As Christians, we're always called to pursue healing. Paul says, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:18). We always seek peace, healing, wholeness...but notice Paul's qualifier: "as far as it depends on you." We cannot force the other person or organization or whomever to live at peace with us. We are only responsible for doing what depends on you to bring healing. If it is rejected, you can live at peace knowing you have done all you can to honor Jesus and pursue peace.

There is a time for endings, but never forget that we are people of resurrection, so there is always a time for healing, for new beginnings. Eagerly pursue that time to heal.