When “Broken” Isn’t the Right Word
Why Hurt Needs Healing, Not Fixing
Many of us have learned to describe ourselves as broken.
So we go looking for fixing.
Fix the behavior.
Fix the habits.
Fix the thinking.
Fix whatever feels most exposed.
But Scripture—and experience—offer a truer diagnosis:
Most people are not broken.
They are hurt.
And there is a world of difference between the two.
Things Get Fixed. People Get Healed
We break things.
Cars.
Phones.
Systems.
When something breaks, we diagnose the defect, replace the part, and expect it to perform again.
But people don’t break like machines.
People are wounded.
Scripture names this difference with tenderness:
“He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)
Notice the language.
Not defective.
Not discarded.
But wounded—and worthy of care.
The problem isn’t that something is wrong with us.
The problem is that something happened to us.
“Broken” Language Often Pulls Us Toward Shame
Shame prefers mechanical language.
Broken implies defect.
Defect implies failure.
Failure implies fault.
When people believe they are broken, they stop asking what happened?
They start assuming what’s wrong with me?
Shame doesn’t invite healing.
It demands repair—and often isolation.
But Scripture rarely treats people as defective objects.
It speaks of weary souls, bruised hearts, and lives in need of restoration.
Hurt Language Makes Room for Healing
To say I am hurt is not weakness.
It is clarity.
Hurt language is relational.
It assumes love mattered.
It acknowledges impact without attaching shame.
Healing doesn’t rush to correct behavior.
It stays long enough to restore connection—to God, to self, to others.
This is why Jesus leads with presence, not pressure.
Presence creates safety.
Safety makes healing possible.
You Are Not a Malfunction
“A bruised reed He will not break.” (Isaiah 42:3)
People are not projects to repair.
They are lives to be loved.
And love doesn’t fix what it can first hold.
Reflection
Where have I used “broken” language that may have increased shame rather than invited healing?
What experiences in my life might still need tenderness rather than correction?
What would it look like to trust God as healer instead of taskmaster?
Prayer