Merriam-Webster classifies broke as an adjective. It describes something. Of the many definitions, I'll highlight just a couple.
1: Violently separated into pars
2: Damaged or altered by or as if by breaking (not working properly/violated by transgression/disrupted by change)
3: Made weak or infirm
4: Not complete or full
5: Disunited by divorce, separation or desertion of one parent
Ouch! Working in the medical field, I see a lot of broken. Being a person I can feel and see a lot more broken than any x-ray/MRI/CT can ever see. Specifically, I find I live that broken every day. So do you. You may not see it, but the broken is right in front of you.
The only time humans weren't broken was back when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. The second Eve took a bite, and the second Adam chose to follow her lead was the last time humans were unbroken. Today society has taken broken to a whole new level. As I see it, every friendship has an element of brokenness. Every marriage has a fracture. Every job can make even the strongest person weak. Every single one of us feels incomplete at times. Brokenness isn't selective either. It cares not profession, age, race or gender. It cares not how successful one is. It will hit you at any moment on any day. When your brokenness hits you it'll be with a Mack truck and wave it's big middle finger at you.
In our brokenness we tend to look for comfort in something and someone. Music, religion, friends, spouses or other things. Previously, this has worked for many. It's worked over the years and we can trust it will work for many more years. BUT!!!
Today's society is so broken that not much is healing the brokenness. Don't believe me? Turn on the news. What do they typically report on? Most of the time they make you wait until they get done with the "headlines" before they get to the weather (unless it's the weather that is making your local news). Then you have to wait until the last 7 minutes to get any sports report (again, unless it is one of the top national items that is a hot topic). Hop on Twitter and you'll be bombarded by the brokenness politics, racial angst and more. If you turn on your favorite radio station, chances are you'll hear about a musician gone too soon because of a drug OD or suicide. Even Hollywood is getting caught up in the brokenness. Their awards show have all of our favorite actors speaking out about some cause (mostly worthy causes) that are highlighting the ills of our world. Broken! Our world is broken.
Now for the church. Many seek comfort in a church. We should go there. We should be able to find solace in a place where there is God. When people don't find that comfort, they are broken one more time. They lose trust in christians. They lose hope that their brokenness will ever be healed. I'd like to think it doesn't happen often or is just a few isolated cases. But my eyes and ears tell me differently. I've seen the hopeless walk into a church and be shunned because of the clothes they are wearing. I've seen the stares piercing those with the body piercings and tattoos. I've seen the judgement from the self appointed righteous towards those that drop an F bomb by accident because their kid broke a toy in the nursery during an outreach event. Hey church, you're broken too.
How do we fix this broken? I'm not an expert. I'll never claim I have the perfect answer. But, I believe that my perfect answer tells me to love. I believe he tells me to forgive. And I suck at love. I suck at forgiving. I am horrible at taking a deep breath and waiting 10 minutes so I don't add to someones brokenness. But, that is what I believe the God I know is asking us to do.
Instead of heaping burning coals on the broken, why don't we take time to listen. Instead of wondering why someone can't just move on after a loss, why don't we take the time to hear their breaking and break with them. Instead of getting mad at someone breaking us, should we try to understand what is going on in their lives causing them to break us? I'm fairly certain most people don't try to break others. Sometimes, people don't know they are breaking us, especially when they are breaking themselves.
Remember, you're broken. It's okay to be broken. You can be put back together. If you're broken, then so is the person you live next to, so is your co-worker, your child, your friends and those you go to church with. If all those people are broken, then so are your pastors, your bosses, your city leaders and your state leaders. Yes, that means your favorite movie star, sports hero and even your national leaders are broken. If you can be put back together, then so can they.
My goal for me to share with you is to help restore you. I want to see you smile again. I want to understand what is breaking you. It'll hurt, I know it will. We'll probably cry. You'll probably hate me at times. I'll probably give you some questionable advice. It's okay though. It's because I'm broken too. And you can help me heal too. Together, we can find a way to be unbroken.
Together we can love, we can forgive, we can become so beautifully broken.
