In other articles in this issue, we have been considering the role of those who seek to help those in difficulty, whether as a result of their own failure or because of adverse circumstances. As we have pointed out, it is a privilege to be able to reach out and be a help in this way. Along this line, we find an exhortation in Galatians 6:22Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2), where we read, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” If a fellow believer, or even an unbeliever, finds himself under the weight of something that is hard to bear, we are to help him bear that burden. However, it might seem confusing at first glance, when we read just three verses farther down in the chapter, “Every man shall bear his own burden” (Gal. 6:55For every man shall bear his own burden. (Galatians 6:5)). How are we to reconcile these seemingly contradictory statements?
As in every other subject spoken about in the Word of God, we find that Scripture is perfectly balanced, and it addresses every situation we may encounter. In order to apply it properly, we must read the Word carefully and seek the guidance of the Spirit of God. The Word of God does not contradict itself, but rather gives us light from God that does not go to extremes in either direction. Although it is not clear in our English translations, the original [Greek] words used for “burden” in both cases are quite different. I am not a Greek scholar, but anyone can look these words up and learn the difference in their meanings.
The Burdens of Others
The word used for “burden” in verse 2, where we are told to bear one another’s burdens, is a word that signifies that which is heavy, oppressive, and hard to bear. It is used elsewhere in the New Testament with this same connotation. It is used in Matthew 20:1212Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. (Matthew 20:12), where the workers in the vineyard complained that they had “borne the burden and heat of the day.” It is also used in 1 Thessalonians 2:6, where Paul says that “we might have been burdensome,” referring to his practice of supporting himself rather than forcing his needs on the hospitality of others. In a wonderful way, it is used in 2 Corinthians 4:17, referring to our “exceeding and eternal weight of glory” in a coming day. It always suggests that which is difficult to bear and is very heavy.
Thus, when we are told to bear one another’s burdens, it is with the thought of helping our brother with that which is unusual and weighing him down to the point of exhaustion. It is helping him with that which is out of the ordinary and causing a great deal of difficulty. Paul referred to this very thing when he encouraged the Corinthians to take up a collection for the believers in Judea, who were going through an unusual time of persecution and hardship. But he made it clear that this was to be temporary help, for he says, “That now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want” (2 Cor. 8:14). So it is of God to help one another in such severe situations.
Our Own Burden
When the Scripture says, “Every man shall bear his own burden,” the word is different and signifies simply something that is carried, without reference to its weight. This word too is used elsewhere in Scripture, particularly by the Lord Jesus, when He said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:3030For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)). It can be used for a heavy burden, but it requires the adjective to make it so. Thus the Lord Jesus said of the Pharisees that “they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders” (Matt. 23:44For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. (Matthew 23:4)). The sense of the word, in the context in which it is used here in Galatians 6:55For every man shall bear his own burden. (Galatians 6:5), is that of the normal, proper and everyday duties that God has given each one of us. It refers to our responsibility in looking after our own affairs in an orderly and suitable way.
Wisdom From the Lord
In helping others, it takes wisdom from the Lord to know when to apply verse 2 and when to apply verse 5. On the one hand, it is easy to ignore the troubles of another, especially when he may have gotten into them through his own carelessness and failure. The world has a saying, “Lack of proper planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” But if the Lord Jesus had acted in this way, all the world would have come under judgment. The spirit of Christ would have us act in compassion, for “we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Rom. 15:11We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. (Romans 15:1)). There are believers who, by virtue of their walk with the Lord and diligence in spiritual things, are strong and spiritually wealthy. Some believers are also materially wealthy. Knowing that we have received it all in grace, we ought to be willing to use that spiritual and material wealth for the blessing and help of others.
Those Not Working at All
On the other hand, it is wrong to encourage other believers to be like leeches, either in natural things or spiritual things. It is well-known that there are those in this world who seldom do a good day’s work and who do not manage their time, energy and affairs in a godly and proper way. Referring to such the Lord Jesus could say, “The poor always ye have with you” (John 12:88For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. (John 12:8)). Sad to say, even believers may act like this, and Paul had to rebuke some in Thessalonica, who were “disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies” (2 Thess. 3:11). Generally, one who fails to manage his natural affairs properly will often be spiritually poor as well and may well lean on others in the spiritual as well as the natural realm. This is not to imply that a poor man in material things is necessarily poor in spiritual things, for often “the poor of this world” are “rich in faith” (James 2:55Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? (James 2:5)). Likewise, a man may be poor all his life, yet “bear his own burden.” But whether we are rich or poor, we are to manage our affairs and bear our own burden in an orderly and responsible way.
In seeking to help those who are poor, we must be careful not to make them dependent on us instead of on the Lord. We can be thankful for the relatively modern “safety net” of social benefits that exists in most Western countries, but sometimes this has tended to foster an attitude of entitlement and an expectation that “the world owes me a living.” We never find such a thing in the Word of God. If someone was to be looked after over the long term (such as a widow in the assembly), it was to be done only under certain circumstances and within scriptural guidelines.
If we look to the Lord, surely He by His Spirit will give us wisdom to balance compassion with responsibility, to use what we have with compassion for others, yet seeking their ultimate good by preserving their responsibility for themselves before God.
W. J. Prost