Carry the Weight

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in him himself alone, and not in another.  For each one shall bear his own load.

Galatians 6:2-5

Life gets heavy sometimes.  We get burdened with the cares of this world.  Sometimes it IS too much for us to handle alone.  Sometimes, we do need a helping hand.  During Wednesday night’s REfresh session, Pastor gave us some insight on how to effectively carry the weight.

Galatians 6:2 admonishes us to bear one another’s burdens.  The Greek word for burden in this verse means “excess burdens.”  These are the big problems in life that weigh us down.  These are the things that crush us.  These are the things that make it hard to stand up under the weight.  The tragedies that hit us unexpectedly and bring us to our knees.  COVID-19 is a perfect example of an excess burden.  We didn’t see it coming.  People all over the world have been impacted in a major way.  As believers in Christ, we have an obligation to help others when life is overwhelming them.  We shouldn’t have to be pressured into it because others are watching.  Our natural inclination should be to help lift the load.  When we work together to lift these burdens, it’s light work.  Team work makes the dream work.  The person is able to go on a little while longer.

The funny thing is that often people that carry these tremendous burdens don’t have the strength or the will to ask for help.  Life can end up crushing them.  One burden that hits closely to home for me is when a family experiences a death.  When the death first occurs, scores of people show up.  They offer condolences.  They give food and money.  As time goes on, people go about their daily lives.  And when the crowds leave….when the months go on…depression can set in.  Now I realize that we can’t be everything to everybody.  That stretches us thin.  But I do believe that we can be more intentional about lifting those who have had crushing blows.  A weekly call to check in.  A quick text to say that you care.  A sit down visit to see their face and hear their voice in person.  A surprise bouquet of flowers to brighten their day and help lift the load.

As you read further in the verses, you come upon verse 5 which says that each one should bear his own load.  Wait a minute.  We all should bear our OWN load.  I just used I don’t know how many words to tell you that we should help one another, and a few verses later it seems to contradict itself.  But it really doesn’t.  The Greek word used for load in verse 5 means “the burden of daily toil.”  You know, your everyday responsibilities.  These are the things that are common to everyone.  We’re responsible for taking care of them even if they require effort.  Pastor reminded me that my devotional time, my prayer time, and my fasting are parts of my daily toil.  My finances, spiritual life, mental state, and physical health are all parts of my daily toil as well.  They don’t flourish effortlessly, but I am responsible for making sure that they are attended to.

The daily toils fit in a backpack that we carry on our backs.  Although they definitely can become heavy, they are weights that we have to walk around with every day.  Just from personal experience, I had to learn how to remove unnecessary weights.  Growing up with a helping family had me taking daily toils out of others backpacks and adding them to my own.  I was NOT helping to lighten an excess burden.  I was taking on weights that were never meant for me to carry.  As a result, the people that I was “helping” weren’t growing stronger, because their backpacks weren’t properly weighted to challenge their muscles.  And I was standing still because I couldn’t move under the weight of their daily toils AND mine.

If my backpack had only contained the toils that I was meant to carry, I would have had the strength to run to the aid of those who are experiencing excess burdens.  My muscles would have matured to the point that I could carry the weight that was assigned to me.   Certainly over the past 8 months, God has had me in a season where He asked me to prioritize Him.  I haven’t done it perfectly, but I have been intentional about seeking His face.  I’m 100% sure that it has helped me through this time.  I thank God for the people who reached out to help ease my excess burdens during this time as well.  Ya’ll we can all thrive and prosper when we learn how to carry the weight.  #wepreach