Bear one another's burdens

Introduction

So last week we looked at what the transformed Christian life looks like. And we talked about it is a life of the Holy Spirit: walking with the Holy Spirit, being led by the Holy Spirit, and living by the Holy Spirit.

In this week’s passage, we are continuing with this idea of the gospel transformed life, and if last week’s passage teaches us that the gospel transformed life is a life by the Holy Spirit, we see that Holy Spirit life is a life of relationships. The Christian life is not something we do alone. It’s not even just me and God. The Christian life is about us together with God. Even though we are different, we are inseparably joined to one another, just like differing body parts are joined together in one body. And in today’s passage, Paul shows us how we should relate to one another as are we united together in this body of Christ.

Let’s read Galatians 5:26-6:10

1. Do not be insecure

So the first point that Paul makes is ‘Do not be insecure’. To have good relationships with one another, you need to have a good and healthy relationship with yourself. It’s easy for many of us, especially at your age, to have issues with self-image:

You can develop an inferiority complex thinking too low of yourself, thinking ‘I’m not good enough’ or even thinking ‘I’m worthless’

You can develop a superiority complex thinking too highly of yourself, leading to thinking you are better than everyone else and arrogance.

But what does Paul teach us about how we should view ourselves?

Let’s read Galatians 5:26 “26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Paul says ‘Do not become conceited’. What does it mean to be ‘conceited’? The conceited person is the person who bases their self-esteem, self-worth, self-image, by comparing themselves to others. Rather than basing your identity and self-esteem in what God calls you regardless of who you are, you base it on comparing and competing with other people. And it is from this constant comparing that people can develop an inferiority or superiority complex.

Now the arrogant person who says ‘I’m better than everyone’ seems really different to the person who says ‘I’m not as good as everyone else’ ‘I’m worthless’. But Paul tells us here that both come from the same heart: it is the heart that compares and competes for their sense of self, identity, and worth.

If they see people around them is much better than them - better grades, body shape, more friends, talent - then they feel themselves as worthless, not good enough.

If they see they are better than the people around them, then they feel great about themselves, puffed up, arrogant.

This way of viewing yourself - by comparing yourself with others - is an bad way to view yourself. It causes you to have an unhealthy relationship with yourself. And an unhealthy relationship with yourself - either an arrogant superiority complex, or a self-degrading inferiority complex - will cause you to have bad relationships with others. This verse tells us that those who think they are better will ‘provoke one another’, attacking other people because they think they are better and superior. It also tells us that those who think they are not good enough, or as good as other people, will ‘envy’ others.

What we need is not to base our identities, our self-esteem, and how good we feel about ourselves by comparing ourselves to others. We shouldn’t feel more or less good about ourselves based on comparing ourself to how much better or worse we are than our friends. We have one foundation for our identity - God alone. God has called you a loved child of God - how good or bad you are is completely irrelevant, because that will not change what God has said you are. God alone is the sole source of how good and secure we feel about ourselves, and as soon as you start comparing ourselves to others, that is a shortcut to feeling miserable and sad about yourself, you start to be controlled by the opinions of others around you, and you can’t relate to other people in a healthy way.

2. Bear one another’s burdens

So rather than provoking one another, or envying one another, how does Paul tells us to treat one another? What kind of relationships should we have? We are to carry each others burdens.

Let’s read Galatians 6:2 “2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

This is similar to an earlier verse - read Galatians 5:14 “14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””

Christians are called to be in a loving relationship with one another, in a loving community. And today’s verse is really helpful because it shows us that true Christian love is not just having nice feelings towards one another, or just saying nice things to one another, but it is practical - it is bearing each other’s burdens. This means that we help each other in our times of need; when things get tough in life, we don’t just feel sorry for that person, we actually go to them and see how we can really help.

It can be simple things like helping someone move house, looking after their kids if they are really busy. If they are on a really busy work schedule, maybe cooking for them and providing food.

But it can be for more serious things, like giving money if they are really financially struggling. If they are going through a really difficult time in life, listening to their story and being a shoulder to cry on.

And bearing one another burdens can be exactly as it sounds. It can be burdensome - it can be hard! It can mean that a lot of our time and energy gets used up helping our friend. It can mean that we lose money. It can mean that we get involved with emotionally difficult people, which can be really emotionally exhausting.

But being a Christian means that we don’t shy away from helping others, sharing the difficulties and burdens of others, just because it will make our lives harder, just because it’s hard or inconvenient. This world will tell you it is wise to stay away from the troubles of other people’s lives. But the Bible tells us the opposite: we dive straight into the battlefield of other people lives, and we go fighting with them, even if it means that our lives are made more difficult. This is the radical love and community that Christians are called to create.

3. Do not grow weary of doing good

But this radical love that God calls us to show, it can be hard, and that means we can burn out, we can grow weary. But Paul tells us: don’t give up. Don’t grow weary of doing good.

And this is the reason we shouldn’t give up - let’s read Galatians 6:9 “9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

We often grow weary of doing good because it is hard to see results. If everytime we put in effort, we saw the results of it immediately and abundantly, that would give us the energy and motivation to help and love others even more.

But it is more often the case that when we help others, we don’t see results for a long time, or we don’t see results at all. People can be stubborn, unchanging, or even unthankful or unappreciative for your help.

But Paul says that ‘in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.’ When we plant a seed, it takes a long time for the plant to grow and even longer for the fruit to grow for us to enjoy. But what is certain is that eventually it will grow and eventually it will certainly bear fruit.

And that’s what Paul tells us our love and service for one another is like. Even though we may not see the benefits or results of our love and service immediately, it will surely come in the future if we do not give up. We must be persistent and persevere in our efforts to show love and service, not looking to immediate results, but looking to the fruit and results far in the future.

And what are these fruits that we will reap? It might be that person is strengthened and they grow in maturity, and we may find inspiration and satisfaction from that. It might be that the person we loved and helped becomes someone who helps us in the future when our lives become hard.

But what the greatest fruit is that as we sow love and service towards one another, we grow into the people we are meant to be: children of God, abundantly growing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. What greater gift and reward is there than becoming the kind of children of God who have the character that Christ showed us?

Conclusion

So let’s not grow tired of loving, and serving one another. This world will tell you: focus on yourself, your ambitions and goals in life. This world will tell you that you have to compare yourself to others, be the same as them, or even compete with them and be better than them. What other people do will pressure you to doing the same. These things will become your identity and self-worth.

But these things only lead to misery, a constant struggle and battle with self-image, and will lead to self-destruction. You need to base your identity, and self-worth, in God alone. It is only what God thinks of you and what God calls you that matters. Everything and everyone else is meaningless. And it is only when we truly know who we are in God, that we can actually stop focusing on ‘me, me, me’, this self-obsession we have to prove to ourselves we are good enough. Only then, can we stop fixating on ourselves and actually look at others, and we can genuinely show love towards one another, which is not only nice feelings, but actually sharing our difficulties and burdens with one another.

So this week, look out for people in your life who are struggling. Who is it that seems to be struggling or having a hard time at school? Among your friends at church? Don’t let that person’s problem be just their problem. The problems among our brothers and sisters are to be shared. Their problems, are our problems as well. We are to shoulder the burden with them, not just watch them struggle by themselves from a distance. Reach out, speak loving words, and actually help them in their lives. And we do this because we realise who we are in Christ - children of God who are called to live like Him.

Discussion questions:

What are the things in myself that I compare with others? What things when I realise I am better than others at, make me feel good about myself? Or what are the things that others have that I don’t, that make me feel sad or inadequate?

What has been my attitude to friends and classmates that have had difficulties or struggles? Have I just watched from a distance, not being involved? What are some things we can actually do to share the burdens of those around us?