In my Tuesday morning bible study, we have been working through Galatians. We just finished, and in the last chapter, I found something often misused. In the last century, we have replaced the word burden with responsibility. At the end of this, you may conclude I am unempathetic and unloving. I believe the awareness may be worth the ridicule.
Galatians 6:2-5 – Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.
BURD’EN, noun burd’n; written also burthen. [Latin fero, or porto.]
2. That which is borne with labor or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome or oppressive.
3. A birth.
5. In common language, that which is often repeated; a subject on which one dwells.
6. A fixed quantity of certain commodities; as a burden of gad steel, 120 pounds.
7. The contents of a ship; the quantity or number of tons, a vessel will carry; as a ship of a hundred tons burden
(1) massa’, from a root nasa’ “he lifted up.”
Thus literally any load is called massa’ (Exodus 23:5 Numbers 4:15, 24, 27 2 Kings 5:17; 2 Kings 8:9).
Figuratively, people are a burden (Numbers 11:11, 17 Deuteronomy 1:12 2 Samuel 15:33; 2 Samuel 19:35).
A man may be a burden to himself (Job 7:20).
Iniquities are a burden (Psalm 38:4).
Taxes may be a burden (Hosea 8:10).
When I read the definition of burden, it causes me to question the burdens I have allowed others to carry. It also leads me to wonder if we, as a church, are good at carrying the things we should. I believe there is a real misunderstanding of this passage. We carry things that were never intended to be carried and drop the things that crush our brothers and sisters.
There are two things here. Burdens and loads. Hardships and responsibility. To effectively live in a community with one another, we must understand the difference between these two.
Responsibilities are easy to carry because they are usually visible, and we are good at knowing what is best for someone else *tongue cheek*. However, carrying someone’s burdens is much more difficult. There is rarely a clear path, and it involves authenticity. A burden is a broken leg, not a fallen tree in the path. We have become good at clearing trees while leaving people behind.
The clearest violation of this principle, unfortunately, happens in our families. This happens when we want to help others because we “love” them. Our children get the short end of the stick when they are not put in positions to take responsibility, and instead, the path is cleared of all trees and obstacles. When they “grow up,” they cannot clear trees and don’t tell anyone about their broken leg.
Taking others’ responsibilities makes us feel good. Carrying others’ burdens makes others feel good. There is a true test of actions here. If what I am doing makes me feel good, I should examine my motivation. The motives may be pure, but are they best for the other person?
How can you help someone stand that is still standing? Sometimes when people walk slowly, or it gets hard, we carry them. Hard is good. Impossible is bad. We should not carry people, just the things impossible for them to carry.
For me, it begs the question, how many burdens can I bear? What does it look like to carry a burden? What responsibilities disguise themselves as burdens ending up doing more harm than good? We have become so bad at taking responsibility for our lives that everything becomes a burden.
I believe the better we do at walking alongside one another, the fewer burdens we will have to carry. “The Way” is filled with nuances we often lump into generality. When we do this, we miss the bigger picture. The suffering is good. Harm is bad.
Romans 5:3-5
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
The final truth I want to expose is a sobering one for me. When I take someone’s load away, I take from them hope. I slowly steal opportunities to grow their character and strengthen their endurance. I pray the Lord grants me the discernment to not steal from my children or others. Help me to responsibly carry burdens, walking alongside when things are hard and carrying the impossible things.
Nos & Rehtaf, Dnabsuh 