“There is a time for everything . . . a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain.” (Ecclesiastes 3:5)
We’re in the middle of a famous poem describing some of the different seasons we experience during our lives. Understanding our particular times helps us to live wisely and make the most of them.
Today’s line deals with times of “embracing” or not. The writer may have been talking about having sex, saying that sex is right for some times and wrong for others. If you’re a Christian who believes the Bible is God’s Word to you, that seasonal difference has everything to do with being married or not.
It’s not just that sex out of season is wrong, it’s that it’s foolish. It still feels great, of course, and it creates a kind of closeness between two people – but it’s a false and destructive closeness when it happens without the commitment of marriage. The negative consequences linger far beyond the moments of pleasure.
But the creator of sex intended for sex in season to be the norm, providing connection and excitement within the commitment of marriage. And it’s just as important to participate in “embracing” when the time is right as it is to skip it when the time is wrong.
Think: If someone asked, what would you say are some of the negative consequences of participating in sex out of season? What’s the point of sex as part of marriage?
Pray: Ask God to give you the wisdom and courage to avoid the destruction that comes from having sex out of season.
Do: Read 1 Corinthians 7:1-9 to hear how Paul spells out God’s teaching on sex and marriage in our times.