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“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
“For every man shall bear his own burden” (Galatians 6:5).
At first glance, it appears that these two verses contradict one another, for each is the opposite of the other. However, God’s Word never contradicts itself.
In the first verse, the Greek word for burden has the thought of an intolerable heavy burden that might occasionally come upon someone, such as a natural disaster, a serious illness, the loss of one’s job, a terrible accident, etc. Then we are to help one another.
In verse five, the word for burden is different. It has the thought of normal, everyday responsibilities, such as providing for our own food, clothing, and shelter, looking after our families, paying our taxes, etc. We should not expect others to do all that for us: it is our proper responsibility.
We need wisdom from the Lord to know when to help others, and when to allow them to look after their own needs. We should always be ready to help in a case of need, but we should not encourage others to be lazy.
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