A Time For War and A Time For Peace

Vol. 15 No. 47 | December 3, 2012

As I bring this “A Time For” series to a close I am once again challenged by the words in Ecclesiastes 3:1,8b-11:

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time for war and a time for peace.What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

War is used to describe a wide spectrum of activities. We use the term war when we talk about nations engaged in military action against one another. Sometimes athletes describe competition on the football field as going to war. Legal teams discuss intense cases against their opponent as war. Politicians plan their campaign strategy as if they were going to war.

When it comes to war, opinions vary. Some say it is time for war when freedom is threatened, when the weak and the innocent are being oppressed or abused.

Some say it is time for war when we are being attacked or there is a threat of being attacked.

Some say it is time for war only when injustice exists.

Some say it is time for war when we need to express our views, promote our cause, and we need to prove our strength.

Some say it is time for war when our views and opinions are not being accepted and appreciated.

Some say it is time for war when we decide that we want to take possession of what others have.

Some say it is time for war only when we are defending “what is right.”

Some say it is time for war any time our free lifestyle is being compromised.

Some say it is time for war only when our free lifestyle is being compromised.

Some say it is only time for war when the calculations have been made and we know we can win the battle.

Some say there is never a time to go to war.

When it comes to peace the opinions also vary.

Some say it is time for peace only after our enemy has been defeated…and destroyed.

Some say it is time for peace any time we can avoid a battle.

Some say it is time for peace only when we cannot win the battle.

Some say we should always seek peace at all cost.

Some say peace is for the weak.

Some say peace is for the losers.

Some say peace is for those who cannot fight.

There is a time for war, and there is a time for peace.

Some will say that when a domestic relationship become so intense, so out of control, and the anger escalates to a point that words can no longer resolve the issues that it is time for war. At that point anything goes. The families of victims of such violence will likely argue the point. They would prefer a time of peace.

Let us seek God’s wisdom and discernment to know when those times come, the courage to stand and fight, and when to seek peace, the love to accept and respect those who have different views, and the faith to know God will make each beautiful in its own time.

Tom

© Copyright 2012 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.