Ecc. 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; June 13, 2007
If you are a member of the human race, I'm sure you've figured out by now that life is full of ups and downs, highs and lows, mountaintops and valleys. We have all experienced that rush of exhilaration, whether it was because that certain someone had just agreed to marry you, or because your first child was born healthy, or something as simple as winning that football game. On the flip side we've all experienced those moments of nearly overwhelming sadness, the day you got the word one of your parents had died, the day you lost your financial security, the time you made a stupid choice and let somebody close to you down. All of those emotions are okay and natural, every human from Adam to myself has encountered them. Read the book of Job if you think you have it hard, then again not many of us has had the riches and blessings he had either.
dancearound. In this verse the Preacher says there is a time for both, and to miss either is to disregard the mandates of scripture. Have you ever been around a cynic, a pessimist, someone that always sees the glass as half empty? Not only are they missing all the good things around them, they are ruining it for everyone around them. We would do well to remember that none of us are islands, and when we act a certain way it does not just effect us, but in fact directly impacts all those we come in contact with. Of course you can have someone who is the polar opposite of this, the kind of guy that never takes anything seriously, the kind of person that makes a joke out of the fact that someone close to you has died. That kind of person is generally thought of as a jerk. Rightly so, the Bible dictates that we weep with those that weep, not just when we're sad, but when our coworker or neighbor is sad as well. We, as Christians, ought to be the people that not only have a shoulder to cry on, but have a heart that will sincerely weep with them.
A christian will be sincere and tuned in to others feelings, to be always weeping and mourning is completely self centered, to be so caught up in laughing and dancing that we ignore the plights of others, is equally selfish. Christians ought to take it on themselves to be following what Christ said was the second greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself. If we are doing this, honestly loving our neighbor the same way we love and look out for number one, we will be properly balanced in our approach to joy and mourning.
If you are a member of the human race, I'm sure you've figured out by now that life is full of ups and downs, highs and lows, mountaintops and valleys. We have all experienced that rush of exhilaration, whether it was because that certain someone had just agreed to marry you, or because your first child was born healthy, or something as simple as winning that football game. On the flip side we've all experienced those moments of nearly overwhelming sadness, the day you got the word one of your parents had died, the day you lost your financial security, the time you made a stupid choice and let somebody close to you down. All of those emotions are okay and natural, every human from Adam to myself has encountered them. Read the book of Job if you think you have it hard, then again not many of us has had the riches and blessings he had either.
dancearound. In this verse the Preacher says there is a time for both, and to miss either is to disregard the mandates of scripture. Have you ever been around a cynic, a pessimist, someone that always sees the glass as half empty? Not only are they missing all the good things around them, they are ruining it for everyone around them. We would do well to remember that none of us are islands, and when we act a certain way it does not just effect us, but in fact directly impacts all those we come in contact with. Of course you can have someone who is the polar opposite of this, the kind of guy that never takes anything seriously, the kind of person that makes a joke out of the fact that someone close to you has died. That kind of person is generally thought of as a jerk. Rightly so, the Bible dictates that we weep with those that weep, not just when we're sad, but when our coworker or neighbor is sad as well. We, as Christians, ought to be the people that not only have a shoulder to cry on, but have a heart that will sincerely weep with them.
A christian will be sincere and tuned in to others feelings, to be always weeping and mourning is completely self centered, to be so caught up in laughing and dancing that we ignore the plights of others, is equally selfish. Christians ought to take it on themselves to be following what Christ said was the second greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself. If we are doing this, honestly loving our neighbor the same way we love and look out for number one, we will be properly balanced in our approach to joy and mourning.
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