Bear One Another's Burdens

In one of the peanuts, cartoon strips, Lucy looks at Charlie Brown and says, why are we here on earth? Charlie responds to make others happy. Lucy ponders that for a few moments and then says, then why are the others here? Well, we're finding out why the others are here and why we're here actually in this series of messages entitled The One and Others. One another is one of the key phrases in the Christian's life and it is one of the key concepts in all of the Bible as far as how we are to relate to one another in the body of Christ. We've been in this series for several weeks and we've already looked at eight of the one and others of the New Testament. We have found that we are members of one another. We are to be devoted to one another. We are to honor one another. We are to be of the same mind toward one another, speaking of the unity of purpose and heart that we have in Christ. We are to accept one another. We are to warn one another. We are to greet one another with a holy kiss. We're to greet one another warmly in our cultural setting, maybe with a hand shake or a pad on the back or a hug. We are also to serve one another this morning. We come to the ninth of the one and others found in Galatians chapter six. And so I invite your attention to the sixth chapter of Galatians where we find Paul telling us to bear one another's burdens or to carry one another's burdens. What does Paul mean by that? Well, let's set the table for the meal that we're going to get from God's word here in just a few moments. I want to make sure that we understand the setting and why Paul is talking about this concept of bearing one another's burdens. In the book of Galatians, Paul is talking about legalism. Paul is warning against legalism and really two kinds of legalism. He warns against in the book of Galatians. First of all, the feeling or the teaching on the part of some that you had to keep the mosaic law in order to be saved. That you had to obey the mosaic law in order to get into heaven. And Paul deals with that particularly in verses like chapter two and verse 16 where he says, know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law because by the works of the law, no one will be justified. That's pretty clear, isn't it? Paul says it over and over again. You don't get saved. You don't get right with God by keeping the 10 commandments or by keeping the mosaic law. It is by faith in Christ that we are declared righteous, but then Paul deals with another kind of legalism as well. And that is the feeling that you have to keep the law or even to keep certain man made standards in order to be a godly Christian in order to be real spiritual. And Paul deals with that in verses like chapter three and verse three when he says, are you so foolish after beginning by means of the spirit? Are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? In other words, you got saved in a spiritual act of the new birth by the Holy Spirit. Are you now trying to finish out the thing by your own fleshly efforts? And he will say in chapter five and verse one. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. So Paul saying, don't put yourself back under legalism. If you realize you don't keep the mosaic law to be saved and don't try to live the Christian life that way either. The antidote to legalism, particularly the kind of legalism in the Christian life, the antidote to that is living by the spirit or walking by the spirit. And Paul mentions that in chapter five and verse 25, he says, since we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit. Now this whole idea of living by the spirit, keeping in step with the spirit, being filled with the spirit, that's real confusing in some people's minds. Some people try to make it something really mystical, some kind of out of body experience, you're in a trance, you know, or you're hearing voices in your head, you know, that's what it means to walk in the spirit. It's nothing of the kind to walk in the spirit, to live by the spirit, to be filled or controlled with the spirit, simply mean, it's very practical. It simply means to be obedient to God's word. When you are obedient to God's word, then the Holy Spirit is in control of your life. And he will produce his fruit through your life. That fruit is described in chapter five in those nine character qualities toward which the spirit is developing us and making us into the image of Christ. Those character qualities are the fruit of the spirit. That's the result of walking in the spirit, living in the spirit. But it comes through obedience to God's word, simple as that. Paul said, don't grieve the spirit. We grieve the spirit by sin. He said, don't quench the spirit in first, that's only in five. And he very clearly says there that that's by despising prophetic word, the word of God. So when you obey the word of God, you are controlled by the spirit, the spirit produces his fruit. You're walking, living by the spirit. It's very practical. In fact, that's the reason why right after Paul deals with that, he says, okay, now here's one of the ways you can tell whether or not you're living in the spirit. And that is how you relate to your brothers and sisters in Christ, whether or not you're bearing each other's burdens. That's one of the ways you can tell you're living in the spirit. So it's very practical that shows itself in our relationships with other believers. And that's why in chapter six, he jumps right into this idea of bearing each other's burdens, carrying each other's burdens. One of the evidences of living in the spirit, walking in the spirit is how we relate to people who are struggling with heavy burdens. It really is one of the evidences of living in the spirit. So what does Paul mean by bearing one another's burdens? Actually, he has two ministries in mind here. The first one is a ministry of restoration. Second is a ministry of recovery. Let's begin in verse one with the ministry of restoration. Paul's talking about helping each other, carrying a heavy load, and he deals with how we should restore people. Verse one of Galatians six, brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the spirit should restore that person gently, but watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. There are several things that Paul says about this ministry of restoration that help us to understand what it's all about. The first thing we need to grasp in order to understand what ministry of restoration is, is whom we are to restore. Who is it that needs restoration? Notice he describes him in verse one as if someone is caught in a sin. That's the person that needs restoration, someone who's caught in a sin. What does it mean to be caught in a sin? Well, that can be understood in two different ways. Some people have understood this as being caught red handed. Ah, purposeful, deliberate sin, purposely living in the sins of the flesh, and you just got caught. You got caught in it. Well, that may mean that, but more often than not, when this concept and word is used in the New Testament, it has the idea of being caught from behind or caught by something or overtaken by something. And so the idea here probably is the person who is trying to live a godly life is trying to live for Christ, but is suddenly tempted and falls. And so there's a sense in which they're walking or running in the right direction, not running towards sin, but they are overtaken. They're caught, they're tripped up in sin. By the way, either way you look at it, our response is to be the same. Whether it's someone who purposely sins and is caught or someone who is overtaken in a sin as they're trying to flee it, regardless of which it is, our response is to be the same. We are to restore. And that leads me to the next thing Paul explains and we need to understand about this ministry of restoration. Why are we to restore? What is involved in this restoration? What does it mean to restore someone? The reason why we are to restore someone is found in the very word itself. Paul says if someone is caught on a sin, you who live by the spirit should restore that person gently. The word restore is a very interesting word. It literally means to bring two parties who have been separated back together. That's restoration. Two parties have been separated from each other and they are to be brought back together. But the word itself is used two different ways in the New Testament and understanding the way it's used really helps us to dig a little deeper into the meaning of what Paul's talking about here. What it means to restore someone. The word restore was used and this is the way it was primarily used in the first century outside the Bible. It was used as a medical term, a surgical term which meant to set a broken bone or to put a joint back in place. So someone sins something is broken. Something's out of joint when a person sins. The idea is when you sin, you break your fellowship with God. Fellowship with other believers is broken. Walking in the spirit is broken because now you're in disobedience to the word of God. So there are a number of things that get broken when you sin. There are a number of things that get displaced and out of joint. And what we're supposed to do is to set the bone, put the joint back in place. In other words, we're to restore a person to fellowship with God, to fellowship with other believers, we're to restore them to what has been broken. But the word had a second use in the New Testament. In fact, this is the way it's most often used when it's used in the New Testament. And that is to mend nets. You were a fisherman and you're throwing out your nets from the boat and it snags on something or a large fish stretches it and maybe tears the net before you can put that net back into service, you have to mend it. You've got to stitch it back up, you've got to fix it. And so the idea of mending a net is repairing a tear so that it can be put back into use. Now when a believer sins typically, they stop serving God or their effectiveness in serving God, their desire to serve God is gone. It is interesting how more often than not, people who get involved in sin drop out of ministry, drop out of serving. They quit doing anything for the Lord. And what Paul is saying is one of the things we need to do is not only restore people's relationship with God and with fellow believers, but we need to mend them, we need to help them heal so that they can be put back into service so that they can get back in operation and serve the Lord again. You see the purpose of dealing with people who sin is never to put them on the shelf and say you can never serve again, you can never be effective again. That's not the purpose. Now obviously there are some cases where there is repeated offense, repeated sin which shows a character flaw that needs to be dealt with before a person should serve again. I do believe that's the case. But the purpose of dealing with a person who has been caught in sin or who has been overtaken in sin is to restore them to mend the broken relationship with God and with other believers and to get them repaired so they can get back in ministry and be put back in service. So that's why we're to restore. Something's been broken and something's been torn. That which is broken needs to be set. That which is torn needs to be mended so that people can once again be in fellowship with God and with each other and once again be serving God. God wants restoration. He doesn't want people to be second class Christians anymore set on a shelf never used of God. He wants somebody to be restored. So we're to restore people. That's why we're to do it because there's a break and a mend a rip or tear that needs to be repaired. But then notice Paul also tells us who is to restore who's supposed to do this restoring. If it's a person who is caught in sin or overtaken in sin that needs the restoration who's supposed to do the restoration. Brothers and sisters he says. Okay, these are fellow believers. If someone is caught in a sin you who live by the spirit should restore that person gently. Now some translations translate this you who are spiritual and that has given at least in some people's minds has given the idea that what we're talking about here is an elite class of Christians. You know people who are really spiritual and they know it. You know, I'm spiritual man. I can I can get you straightened out. That's not at all what Paul's talking about. Again in the flow of thought in the context he's just talked about what it means to be spiritual. He's just talked about in chapter five what it means to walk in the spirit live in the spirit live by the spirit and what that means is that right now in your life you're living in obedience to the word of God. And so the fruit of the spirit is being manifested in your life doesn't mean you're any better than other Christians or you've reached a status that others can't reach. It just means that right now you're walking in the spirit you're living in obedience to the word of God. You have a responsibility to reach out to people who are not doing that right now and restore them. And so really it means any brother or sister in Christ who is walking in obedience to the word of God. We have a responsibility to reach out to our brothers and sisters and restore them. It's not some kind of elite special forces kind of Christian here. These are ordinary run of the mill believers who are just living in obedience to the word of God. We all have a responsibility to reach out to others who are falling short. That's who is to restore. But notice Paul is very careful to describe also how we are to restore. How should we do this? He says brothers and sisters if someone is caught on a sin you who lived by the spirit should restore that person gently. Restore that person gently literally with a gentle spirit with tenderness. Now aren't you glad when a doctor sets a bone tenderly? It's kind of tough when a doctor gets a hold of you and says okay take this. And now it's back in joint. There may be some occasions where that has to be done but you'd much rather that be done gently. I remember when our middle daughter Ruth was young when she was a child. We lived in Indiana and she developed a lot of allergies. We had her tested and found out she was allergic to basically every tree and grass that grew in the state of Indiana. When they did those pinpricks on her back it just all swelled up into one huge well it was awful. And so she had to get on shots those shots that desensitize you and build up an immunity to what you're allergic to. Well there was a lady in our church who had served as a nurse at a big hospital in Fort Wayne. And her husband was a dairy farmer and the dairy farm had grown and she had quit the nursing profession was now helping him on the farm. And she said I'll be glad to give Ruth her shots. Well the problem is she had gotten the custom to giving shots to cows. Cow hide is a lot tougher than human hide. It's a lot thicker than human hide. And so I never forget the first time we took Ruth to Joyce to get her shot. Joyce took the needle and went boom. And I thought we would never get Ruth to take another shot again in her life. We had to take her somewhere else and promise that that would never happen again. Aren't you glad when someone who's setting something that hurts does it with as much gentleness as possible. Well that's what Paul is saying about how we should treat others who sin. When we restore them we shouldn't do it angrily. We shouldn't do it roughly. We shouldn't do it with any arrogance about us. We should do it with tenderness and gentleness. With the kind of spirit that loves that person that has a deep concern for what they're going through. And the fact that they're out of fellowship with God and out of fellowship with other believers. And we don't want that for them. And they're torn. They need to be repaired. They don't need to be kicked around. They don't need to be kicked while they're down. They need to be treated gently. So Paul says if you're in the business of restoring people who've sinned do it gently. But then notice the second way that we are to restore. He says but watch yourselves at the end of the verse. Watch yourselves. Or you also may be tempted. Watch yourself. Literally take careful notice the word watch means. Be alert. Take careful notice about yourself. Think about your own weakness. Think about the fact that you could also fall. He says you can also be tempted. Now the point that Paul is making here is that when we're dealing with someone who has sinned, there is no room for a haughty spirit. There's no room for self righteousness. There's no room for pride and arrogance and a holier than thou kind of attitude. There's no room for that. When we're reaching out to someone who's fallen into sin, we should always do it with the spirit that you know. I could be there too. I have the same sinful nature. I'm capable of the same thing. I may not have ever done that. I may not have gotten that far but I'm capable of it. And so we need to be careful that we don't view ourselves as well. I would never do that. Look at that person and we get that you know down in those look a haughty arrogant feeling towards someone who's fallen. Paul says don't don't do that. Don't do that because you can fall too. In another place you remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 he said, let him that thinks he stands, take heed. Let's default. If you develop that arrogant, proud, haughty, self righteous spirit, you're setting yourself up for a fall. Because we all have the same sinful nature. We're all capable of the same thing. Whether or not we've ever done that or not, we're all capable of it. And so Paul says nothing, nothing about arrogance or pride or a haughty spirit in restoring people. Watch yourself carefully. Watch yourself because you can also be tempted. I must again place this in its context of what Paul's dealing with in the whole book of Galatians. Because it has such bearing to things we face today. Nothing reveals the wickedness of legalism anymore than how legalists treat brothers who have sinned. People who've sinned. Nothing reveals the wickedness of legalism more than that. You see legalism is demonstrated for instance in John chapter 8. Remember the story of when Jesus is dealing with the Pharisees. And the Pharisees bring to him a woman that was caught in adultery. Do those self righteous, proud, haughty Pharisees, do they care anything about that woman? No. Do they have any concern that she come to know the God who can free her from that and develop the kind of lifestyle that will be best for her and most pleasing to God? Is there any concern for that? No. All they're concerned about is making themselves look good on the one hand. But also they're using her to try to trap Jesus into saying or doing something wrong. Legalists use people for their own benefit. Another example of the way legalists treat people is in Acts chapter 21. Paul has gone into the temple. He's on a trip to Jerusalem and he goes into the temple and he takes some folks with him that the Jewish leaders of the church in Jerusalem have asked him to take with him into the temple. And the Jews who are in the temple automatically assume that he has brought Gentiles into the temple and they attack him. They start beating him. They want to kill him. Doesn't matter that they didn't have their facts straight. He did not have Gentiles in the temple. But that doesn't matter. And it never matters to a legalist to get the facts straight. A legalist goes by rumor and suspicion and then self-righteous imagination takes over and will take it from there. A legalist hears something about someone and glots in it because it's them, not me. Nothing shows the wickedness of legalism more than how a legalist treats a sinning brother. And with a condemning critical attitude begins to attack. Give the other person's failure wide publicity. Listen, I know what I'm talking about. I've been there. I've been in the camp where that kind of thing was done. I remember reading the periodicals that would come out and would almost gloat in the failures of other people and give them wide publicity rather than reaching out to help that person. I know what it's like to live that way. And it's not pleasing to God. A legalist has no tenderness, gentleness, or compassion. There's only harshness and judgmentalism when it comes to people who have fallen. And Paul says that's not the way to treat a fallen brother or sister. It's not the way to treat someone who's overtaken and sinned. The goal is to restore. The goal is to set the bone, put the joint back in its place, mend the net so that they can serve again. And the goal is to do that with a gentle tenderness and a consideration of ourselves realizing that we could do the same thing. No haughty spirit, no arrogance, no pride. That's the mark of a legalist, the pride, the haughty spirit. The Ministry of Restoration, Paul says, help that person bear that load, restore that person. But Paul's not only talking about a Ministry of Restoration. He's also talking about a Ministry of Recovery in verses two through five. Paul talks about recovering, helping someone to recover who is bearing a load that's too heavy for them to bear. How do you help them recover? This is really where the bearing one another's burdens comes in. Notice what Paul says about this Ministry of Recovery. First of all, he talks about our burdens in verse two. Notice our burdens carry each other's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. The word for burdens is a particular word which means a very heavy load. I mean, this is the kind of load that really weighs you down, that you cannot handle on your own. This is the type of burden that is crushing you under its weight. This is the type of heavy trial or trouble that you will not make it unless you have some help. This is not your ordinary run of the meal difficulty. This is a heavy load. And we all have times in our lives when we're under those kind of heavy loads that we cannot handle on our own. It may be a physical load that you're carrying today that puts you in that position. It may be an emotional load, something going on in your life that emotionally you just can't handle. It may be something to do with your family. It may be a spiritual trial or burden that you're having trouble with. It may be something regarding your job or your finances or you fill in the blanks. It can be anything that is crushing you, that is so heavy, you're not going to make it on your own unless you have some help. That's the burden he's talking about here. Notice Paul says something about our bearing those kind of burdens. You see what he says in verse two? Carry each other's burdens. Bear each other's. Bear one another's burdens. Carry them. The idea, literally, is to get under that load with that person. I mean, get under that load with them. Put your shoulder under it too and help them carry it. It may be something as practical as reaching out to give them aid. If it's a financial burden, if it's a physical burden and maybe they're not able to do work around the house that they would normally do, it means you get under the load and you help them do that. So it can be very practical. It can be very get under it and help them actually do what they need to do. It can be that. Carrying someone's load, bearing their burden can also be getting under it with them in the sense that we encourage them. We counsel them and we comfort them from the Word of God. That source of strength, which is better than any other, is one of the ways that we help to carry people's burdens. Or it may be that we keep them focused upon the Lord Jesus. It may be that we continue to point them to Christ, the one who can help when nobody else can. The one who can give a comfort and a peace and a source of strength and an endurance to bear up under the load that none of us can. And so we help that person keep their focus on Jesus when it's hard to. Or maybe carrying someone's load is as simple and as profound as bearing it up in prayer. And you assure that person I'm praying for you every day. And here's what I'm praying for very specifically. I'm going to help you through this. I'm going to walk with you through it. I'm going to carry it with you. And it may mean yeah, that I help you in very practical ways, but it's going to mean if nothing else. There's nothing else I can do. It's going to mean I'm going to be praying for you every day. There are lots of ways we can carry each other's loads. When we do that, Paul says in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. I just love the way he says that in a book where he's been arguing against legalism against the law, he says, no, wait a second. We're not entirely lawless as believers. We just live under another law. The law of Christ. And what is that law? Jesus himself would tell us what that law is. When he said this in John chapter 13 and verse 34, it'll be on the screen for you. A new command. I give you a new law. It's a new command. Just like a tin command. It's a new one. This is my new command. Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another. He would reiterate the same thing in the same evening to his disciples in chapter 15 of John. And verse 12 when he would say, my command is this. Love each other as I have loved you. That's the law of Christ. That's the new command that Christ has given us. And we've seen this before. If you love another person like that, which means that you put them in their needs ahead of your own. That means you're going to get under the burden with them. You're going to be concerned about what they're going through. You're going to want to help them through that time of difficulty. And so when you bear one another's burdens, you're loving them. And so you're fulfilling the command of Christ, the law of Christ, to love that other person. And so that's what Paul says to do. When someone has a heavy burden, they can't carry on their own. Get under it with them. And you'll show that you love them and that you're fulfilling what Jesus commanded us to do. That's our bearing of the burden. But please notice if you will. Paul also talks about our attitudes in this ministry of recovery and bearing one another's burdens. As we reach out to one another, there are some attitudes that we must make sure we carry and must make sure we have. He mentions three attitudes in verses three through five. The first one is there can be no conceit. No conceit. When you're reaching out to other people, you cannot do that with conceit. Look at verse three. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. You say, well, what place does that have in a passage about bearing each other's burdens? Oh, it has a lot to do with bearing each other's burdens. If I think that I'm something when I'm not, when does that happen? Well, if I take pride and glory in my accomplishments, my achievements, progress that I've made in my life, and I take the credit for that and I begin to get real kind of swelled up about that and proud about that, then I'm taking credit where credit is not due. I'm getting glory for myself when that's not due to me. I am thinking that I'm something when I'm really not, because for any progress or achievement or accomplishment that is made in any of our lives, the glory really goes to God. It is His enablement. It is His grace. It is His strength. It is His power that makes all of that possible. And so we can't take the credit for that ourselves. To take the credit for that ourselves is to think we're something when really it wasn't up to us. It wasn't our achievement or accomplishment. It was due to the grace of God. And by the way, when you begin to start taking credit for yourself, then you get your eyes off of other people. That's why it affects carrying other people's burdens. Because conceit means you're focused on yourself. You're not thinking about other people's burdens. So to carry the burdens of other people, there can be no conceit. Secondly, the attitude we must have is there can be no comparing. No comparing. You see it there in verse 4. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone without comparing themselves to someone else. Now, obviously comparing yourself to someone else can take two forms. It can take the form of thinking you're better than others. You can compare yourself to others in that way. I'm better than you. And by the way, that kind of comparison has no place in a Christian's life. It has no place in a ministry either. Churches that advertise as we're the biggest, we're the best, we are the most this or the most. Why are we trying to compare ourselves to anybody? That just doesn't fit with serving God. There should be no comparison with other ministries or with other believers to make ourselves look the best or the biggest or the finest or the whatever. That has no place in a believer's life or in a ministry. But comparison can take another route. You can compare yourselves to people in such a way that you say, well, I could never measure up to you. And that leads to discouragement and defeat. So either way you compare, you're going to get off target. You're going to get off course. So here's what Paul says to stop all that comparing with other people and with other ministries. And keep yourself on target and on focus. This is what you do. You see it there in verse four. Each one should test their own actions. Now the word for test here means to test by a standard. What's the standard that Paul's recommending? Obviously it's the word of God. We test ourselves by an infallible standard. The only standard we should be comparing ourselves to is God's word. So when I measure myself, how should I measure myself by another Christian? No. By another ministry? No. I measure myself by this book. And if by God's grace, I find that I'm making some progress and measuring up to what I should be and what I should do, then the second part of the verse kicks in. Then he says they can take pride in themselves alone without comparing themselves to someone else. Say Paul is saying it's okay to be proud. I can take pride in myself only in this way. When you compare yourself to the standard of God's word, there is a legitimate kind of pride in the sense of a deep satisfaction of knowing that your life and your labor is pleasing to God. Not that it compares favorably to someone else, but if you're comparing yourself to the Bible, and if you find, thank God by His grace, there's some progress in my character this year. I have been able to make some progress and growth in this area. Then there is a sense of inner satisfaction that in that way your life is pleasing to God. That's the kind of pride he's talking about. He's not talking about arrogance or haughty spirit. He's talking about the sense of a deep satisfaction of knowing that I'm pleasing to God. And you know what? When you measure your life that way, when you measure your ministry that way, by God's word as to whether or not I'm pleasing God, it takes away all the pressure of comparisons. It doesn't matter if I compare to someone else either favorably or unfavorably. That doesn't matter what matters is that I'm doing what God wants me to do. Now here's the kicker. Is that appropriate term to use in church? Here's the clincher. That's better. Here's the clincher. The clincher is when you're living that way, when you are focused on pleasing God that frees you to get under other people's burdens. You're not focusing and spending all your time on comparing yourself to them. You're wanting to reach out to help them. Because it doesn't matter how you compare to them, you're comparing yourself to what God wants of you. And so it frees you to now move into their lives to help bear their burdens. And that's why Paul groups all this together. What he's saying is that when we get under the load with someone, we cannot ever do that with an attitude of comparing. Because that's not how we're going to live anyway. So there should be no concede. There should be no comparing. Thirdly, Paul says the attitude there should be no codependency. I had to get another C in there, but really this one fits. I know this is a psychological term, but it fits. Look at what he says in verse 5. For each one should carry their own load. Now, psychologists call a particular phenomenon codependency. And it does something like this. When you make another person dependent on you with a sense of entitlement, you're doing things for them that they should be doing for themselves. And so you bring them into a sphere of their dependent on you for things they should be doing themselves. And that can happen in a lot of ways. A lot of ways can happen with our children as they get older. It can happen with other adults can happen with our parents. It can happen in the political social realm. And I won't even go there. But when you begin to make people dependent on you for things they should be doing themselves. And you like that because you need that sense of power and control over somebody. Ah, so it's not only them that are dependent, you're also dependent on it. That's what codependency is. That's what psychologists call that phenomenon. And that's exactly what Paul's addressing here. I believe that the Bible addresses every human condition and need and it addresses codependency. Because verses two and five go together. Did you notice in verse five he says each one should carry their own load. But in verse two he said carry each other's loads carry each other's burdens. Well, which does he mean? Are we in contradiction here? Not at all. Because Paul uses two different words for burdens or loads here. In verse two, remember it's a heavy load that you can't bear on your own. You will collapse. You will be crushed under this load. There's no way you can carry this on your own. That's the kind of load he's talking about in verse two. But in verse five he uses a totally different word. It's the word that was used for Roman soldiers knapsack or backpack. And it's not like you see our soldiers carrying today, although they've been trained to carry that kind of weight. This was a small knapsack kind of thing that a soldier Roman soldier would carry on his back. You don't try to get someone else to carry that for you. That's your responsibility. You can carry that. Any soldier can carry that. That's not too heavy for you. That's the kind of load he's talking about in verse five. So what Paul is saying is this, yes, bear each other's burdens. Get under the load with other believers and help them carry it. But only the kind that they can't carry on their own. We all have responsibilities for our own backpacks. There are some burdens that we got to carry our own. We're supposed to carry ourselves. And upon that elf on someone else can form an unhealthy kind of relationship. And that's why Paul says you don't carry those kind of loads for someone else. You teach them to carry those on their own. You carry the ones that will be crushed under the ones they can carry on their own. They're responsible to carry on their own. You teach them to carry that. Because each man is responsible to carry his own load. There is a point to us helping others. And we always need to be the kind of church that will reach out to help others. But not in a way that forms an unhealthy dependence for loads that need to be carried by those people on their own. There's a beautiful biblical balance here. So Paul is saying there is a way to help people recover from crushing loads, from heavy loads. Just make sure everybody knows they have some responsibility to carry their own load. Don't do that for them. One of the first stories in the Bible is about relating to a brother in a negative way. It's a story of Kane and Abel. You remember the story. Kane and Abel are the two sons of Adam and Eve. And they're both bringing sacrifices to God. The manner of Kane's sacrifice is not pleasing to God. God makes that clear to him. He is pleased. However, with Abel's sacrifice. And because God is pleased with Abel's sacrifice, but not Kane's, Kane gets angry and takes it out on his brother Abel. And you remember the story that one day in the field, he killed his brother. God comes to Kane after that and says to Kane, where is your brother Abel? Abel. God never asks a question for information. God knows where Abel is. He knows what's happened. He's seeking to penetrate the hard heart of Kane. That's what he's doing. Where is your brother Abel? Do you remember Kane's response? It goes something like this. How am I supposed to know? Am I my brother's keeper? The idea is, what do I care? Not my responsibility. Take care of himself. I don't need to take care of him. That's the idea and that's the manner that the thought behind what Kane is saying. Never let that be said of you. Never let that be said of Johnston Chapel. That we look at other people, we look at one another. This is brothers and sisters in the body here. That we look at one another and we say, what do I care? You take care of himself. We have a responsibility for one another. We have a responsibility to get under the heavy loads of people who are carrying loads that are crushing them and help them carry those loads. We also have a responsibility to teach people to carry loads that they should know to carry themselves. But we have a responsibility to help bear each other's burdens. I haven't said anything about this in this message, but that puts on us a corresponding responsibility to let our burdens be known. If you hide your burdens, if you hide the things that are crushing you, how is someone else supposed to know that you need help? There's no one around here as far as I know that our mind readers, sometimes we may be able to tell someone under emotional stress and may be able to draw that out. But the responsibility to bear one another's burdens gives us an incumbent responsibility also to share our burdens, to be open enough with one another, to say I'm hurting. I got something I can handle on my own. I need help. I need help. Let's pray together. Father, help us to share one another's burdens, to carry them, to be honest about them, to be willing to admit when we need help, and then to be willing to reach out. If it's a problem of sin, help us to restore gently with a humble spirit. If it's a problem of a heavy weight, help us to get under it with our brothers and sisters, help them carry it, help them bear that burden. Father, give us your grace and your strength to be the kind of burden bearers that we should be. Carry one another's loads. We ask in Jesus' name, amen.