Ecclesiastes 3:5

A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;

Dealing with people

In the ancient world, thoughts of conquering an enemy were different. Not only would other nations want to defeat you in battle, but they would also have the intent to totally destroy your people group. Casting stones could destroy crops or make it terribly hard for people to farm. They would cast the stones on agricultural ground. Later, people used salt to destroy farmland.

Solomon then turns around and tells us there is a time to gather stones. Instead of hurting those who hurt us, we should help them. Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. Think of the consequences of always being an eye-for-an-eye type of person. Someone has to be the peacemaker. Jesus tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

There is a time to embrace. Embrace people. We were created to have relationships. We need to find our tribe. Fellow Christians are our tribe. Embrace them. White, black, brown, or blue, we need to see other Christians as fellow heirs of the kingdom. We need to embrace challenges. God strengthens our faith through challenges. We should not run when we face tough times. Easy believism does not exist. Look at Jesus’ life; He was the suffering servant.

There are also times when we should refrain from embracing. We should not embrace sin or sinful people. That does not mean that we should not testify and witness to them. They need to hear the truth. The truth sets us free. What is the truth? The better question is: Who is the truth? Jesus. We need to share Jesus with sinners. But we don’t need to be their best friend or get into silly arguments. Sometimes, like Paul, we need to walk away.