Bearing Burdens
In Galatians 6:1-5, Paul states:
Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. For each person will have to carry his own load.
You will notice I have highlighted two parts of this passage that always had me a little curious as they seemed to be contradicting each other at first glance. I wanted to take the opportunity in this article to share a personal experience of mine that shed a great deal of light on this passage.
In 2017, my husband and I were blessed to be able to take an amazing trip to South America and hike the Inca Trail to see Machu Picchu. To be perfectly blunt, I had not prepared enough physically for this hike. We had backpacking packs that held all our clothing and personal items for the 3 days on the trail. After the first day of the hike, I was in an incredibly low spot and was wondering what it would take to get out of this hike and not have to pick up my pack the next day. I didn’t feel like eating that night and was kind of an emotional wreck as sometimes physical exhaustion will cause. My husband, Kent, came into the tent to let me know that he had discussed with our guide a plan for the next day (which was to be the hardest day on the trail going over the highest point of elevation). Between Kent and our guide, they were going to take some of the items from my backpack to help me make it the next day. They were carrying my burden.
Just the psychological aid in that act alone was incredibly powerful, but honestly, so was the physical relief. I made it the next day, which in turn boosted my confidence for the final push on the third day. However, that evening, Kent told me that my burden had not been easy for him to bear, and he needed me to take back my items the following day, or he was fearful he would not make it. You see – he had added all that extra weight on the hardest day of the hike and couldn’t keep going with the extra burden. I needed to carry my own load.
We both finished the hike and had an amazing time seeing Machu Picchu at the end – but it was later as I was mulling over our story that I realized it was such a great example of what Paul is talking about in Galatians.
When we see others failing and at their emotional limit and we have capacity – we need to step in to carry their burden. We are part of the same army fighting the same enemy, and we need to do what we can to help our fellow soldiers.
However, if we start to believe the other soldiers MUST keep carrying our load, then we may be putting them at risk of not reaching their goal. We must also carry our own load at times. As with everything in life, you will sometimes be in the position of being aided or you will sometimes be in the position of helping another. In both cases, you must be honest about what you need AND the impact you are having on the other. Our walk in this battle is just like in a physical army – a blend of each soldier’s actions along with the combined effort of the group. We must have wisdom to discern when others need us to step in and help carry a burden that is too much for them to bear. We must also have enough wisdom to recognize when our burden is causing undue stress on a fellow soldier. We are so blessed not to be in this alone and to have others to lean into as well as to know we can pay that back eventually as well.
My prayer today is that you will take a look at your current situation and the situation of your fellow soldiers. Are you in a position to help another bear their burden? Then step in and provide that assistance. Is someone struggling under a load that perhaps you need to take back? Take it back and allow them some relief and reprieve. Let us not look out for our own interests, but rather to the interests of others (Phil. 2:4).
