We all carry burdens, and some days it feels like we are auditioning for the role of Atlas—only without the muscles, or the Greek mythology paycheck. One person wrestles with a difficult boss who must have graduated from Pharaoh’s School of Management. Another faces heartache at home. Some wage war with bank statements that look like horror movies—every time you open them, something inside you screams. Others battle relational conflict with people who should be their closest allies. Still others silently wrestle with habitual sins that drain joy like a slow leak in a tire. Then there are those who carry emotional scars from abuse—either given or received—that keep sleep far away. Into this heavy world, Paul speaks a simple but life-changing command in Galatians 6:2: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Paul has been arguing that the law of Christ is love, and love is not a Hallmark card slogan—it is sweaty, inconvenient, shoulder-to-shoulder help.
Christianity was never designed for solo survival. As Chuck Colson used to say, Christians are not lone rangers—and even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. André Hugel once wrote, “Behind every saint stands another saint.” John of the Cross agreed: “The virtuous soul that is alone is like a lone burning coal—it will grow colder rather than hotter.” Or as George Swinnock put it, “Satan watches for those vessels that sail without convoy.” Charles Wesley must have gotten the memo when he wrote:
Help us to help each other, Lord,
Each other’s cross to bear,
Let each his friendly aid afford,
And feel his brother’s care.
But helping others is hard if you secretly believe they deserve their misery. I confess I have struggled with that attitude. It is easy to assume that people are just reaping what they sowed—so why should I get involved? Paul saw that coming and goes straight for the ego in Galatians 6:3: “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” My dad used to say, “Don’t kid yourself.” Paul says the same thing—just with apostolic authority and fewer dad jokes. We are not better than the people we are tempted to judge. We are fellow strugglers.
Then Paul delivers the knockout blow to our pride in Galatians 6:4: “Let each one test his own work… and not compare himself with his neighbor.” Pastor Craig Larsen explains it beautifully: some Christians are 25-watt bulbs, others shine at 50 watts, and a few at a dazzling 200 watts. But when you hold all those bulbs up to the sun, the differences become laughable. Compared to God, we all look dim. Comparison is pointless. We all have burdens—and we all need each other.