Just a Thought: Bear Another's Burden
- Kevin Di Bassinga
- Oct 27, 2024
- 10 min read
“There’s absolutely nothing you could do to make God love you more or less. For He loves you more than you can fathom, and it’s not in His character to love you any less than that.”
It’s one thing to know this intellectually. It’s another to step into this and live it out.
This is to be read in tandem with the last entry in this series. I’ve been wrestling with this in the back of my mind for a very long time, and this entry probably won’t be the end of it; but I’ve got enough to start. As I’ve stepped away from the bubbles of my youth, I’ve been confronted with the reality of what life is really like. The Preacher puts it well.
“It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is under the sun, and behold, all is a vanity and a striving after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 1:13b-14)
I can’t claim to have seen ‘everything’ as the Preacher did, but I’ve certainly been opened up to the fact that life is much more complicated that I’d given it credit for. The thoughts I write about in this entry are based on a perspective founded in Ecclesiastes and sparked from this passage of Paul’s letter to the Galatians:
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1-2)
There’s a lot to this, and again it’s unfinished thought, but I believe it’s at the very least a good conversation starter. Let me know what you think.
Check Yourself, Protect Yourself
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, agaisnt the cosmic powers over this present darkness against the spiritual forces in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:10-12)
I'll speak first to the brother or sister who feels weak in their faith, whether it's just for the moment or if this is where you live. For the moment, you'll be the "little ones," to be encouraged and maybe even disciplined (or corrected). That's not an attempt to disrespect, but rather to align with language that the Word uses (See 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:9; specifically 3:1 where Paul calls his audience "infants in Christ"). Anyway...
Satan is THE liar. And he will take every opportunity that we give him to cause chaos and wreak havoc on the Body. One thing about God, though, is that He never stops loving us. Even when our judgment is clouded, we can hang on to this one truth, that God loves us. The ultimate response to realizing this truth is to keep the commandments—to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to love your neighbor as yourself—and all that those entail. This often looks different than what we expect, our picture is never complete. And this, I believe, shows up strongest in the way that we love those who don’t know better: “The little ones."
Some context. I recently remembered something horrible that I did when I was a kid—I’ll spare the details, don’t get too curious. Anyway, as I remembered the incident, my first response was to shame myself for it, for this thing I did when I was 9 (it's the same response I had when I was 9). This is where Satan stepped through the door. From there, I was quietly led to a familiar belief that I was deeply bad, malevolent. It would show up in most of my thoughts, not always with obvious language—more often with half-truths and a "proper" yearning to be better. This shame response, unfortunately, felt correct: it has to be the case that I’m bad, because why else would I have done that thing? I’m bad. I watched a sermon the other day that reminded me of what was really true, though: I was robbed of my innocence as a child, then I was lied to by Satan and I believed the lie he told.
In my youth, I had no protection against this, I didn’t really know that I needed it—the framework for the context of needing protection was barely developed, if at all. (Just to paint a picture of how unaware I was.) It’s true that I sinned, and that sin is bad and that sin hurts the Lord. But I ask myself, if that child were anyone other than a younger version of myself, how would I treat them? How would I treat my children? How does God treat His?
Okay, so why do I bring that up? Well, Satan’s done this to each of us at some point. Every single one of us. We’ve all been deceived to believe a lie somewhere along the line, one that’s driven the way we see ourselves and how we interact with the world. The worst part is this, that while we’re believing the lie we’re unlikely to simply find it and dump it. Instead we internalize it, and the lie becomes the machine which defines us and guides our thoughts. It becomes the lens that we see the world through. It weaves itself into the fabric of our souls.
Again, this is the case with all of us. What differs among us is how, in the present moment, each of us relates to that lie (or those lies, God help us). This is where I lock eyes with the intended audience, though. To the brother or sister who is walking in the light and in freedom: don’t be so heavy handed when dealing with “little ones.” Again, I mean that term in a spiritual sense—one who is operating with a view that is anything short of eternal—and I believe it can even be said of those who’ve been following the Lord for some time, even if just for a season, because time or age isn't always an accurate mark of maturity.
I look to Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
Love Lifts Up
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1-2)
We have to remember, Jesus Christ came for hearts. While there is a right and wrong, our temptation as maturing believers is to focus more on the end product, the actions (like the Pharisees did), than to look into the heart, to find the lie and to lovingly correct the belief. Of course what this looks like unfortunately depends. But we ought to be sensitive to those who are caught in moments of transgression—“a lapse or deviation from truth and uprightness.” Not to tolerate the transgression, but to correct it gently. (I'd encourage you to read the rest of this chapter, it fills in the rest of my thought here).
Paul continues, “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing,” (and all of us are in a sense, nothing), “he deceives himself.” I think to Paul’s letter to the Romans, as well.
“[To the strong], put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. As for the one the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions…for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgement on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Romans 13:14-14:1, 14:3c-4)
The rest of chapter 14 continues to speak on our propensity to judge one another, our propensity for insensitivity, and how we ought to be mindful that every single one of us takes account before the Lord in the end. I remind you that, without Christ, we’re all damned to hell. I love Roman’s 3:23 for this reason—"For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"—it keeps me humble. Anyway, Paul continues in this letter to speak to the example of Christ.
“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, ‘the reproaches of those who reproached me fell on me.'” In other words, I [Christ] carried their burdens.
“For whatever was written in the former days, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:4-7)
To those who are strong in the faith, who would claim themselves to be strong believers, and believe that this strength gives them license to judge, I ask you this question (one I ask myself, as well): Would you lay down your self-righteousness for long enough to see the fog that clouds your brother or sister’s judgement, to love them and offer encouragement rather than judgement, that they might someday step out of that fog and into an air of love?
This isn’t to say, “encourage the sin” or "blindly tolerate deception." That’d be wildly irresponsible of me, worthy of whatever punishment came with it. Instead, I say make the transgression lovingly known and respond to the reception of that notice. If you ask the right questions, or spend enough time listening, you might gain some insight to the lie that's being believed. You can adjust your actions and words. Address it in love and in the Spirit, and pray over what comes of it.
This might not be by way of confrontation or conversation, a lesson I’m learning every day. Instead, carrying the burden might just look like praying for this person—maybe it starts with being faithful enough in God to believe that prayer could work, then you’ve got your own matters to work out. It might simply be operating in kindness. As painful as it might be to see another walking in sin, I reckon it might feel worse to see them walk away entirely because they never felt the love of God where they expected a believer to provide it.
Again, don’t read this and think, “encourage the sin.” Nor is this a call to suddenly become the “perfect Christian” and to bear the weight of the sins of the world on your shoulder. Instead, read it and ask, “what’s actually going on there?” Take the time to get off your spiritual high horse—if Christ rode on a donkey, then our horses might be more like merry-go-rounds anyway—and love your neighbor. And don’t do it for your sake, to puff yourself up as a “good Christian,” this is you laying yourself down for the sake of a “weaker brother.” Do it for Christ’s sake, the man who did the whole “dying on the cross and resurrecting so that you could spend eternity with God” thing.
If this feels like an insurmountable task or if it's a little uncomfortable, good. Go back to the last “Just a Thought” and take the pressure off yourself—these ideas are meant to be held together through tension to understanding. Our primary objective is love (which happens to be patient and kind, by the way). We ought to trust that God can do more through our love than our judgement. So, get off your plastic horse, and go invite whoever you're thinking of to dinner or something. Maybe a game night, or play some sports, do some arts and crafts, get a cup of coffee, whatever it is that God has given you to connect. Keep yourself in check, an honest check, and God will take care of the rest.
Be blessed.
Postscript
This is meant for those who are frustrated with a “lack of spiritual progress” in a friend or neighbor—a young believer or non-believer—or who are confused by another's actions. I’d encourage you to check that you’re not the spiritual hindrance, whacking folks with the Word and “laying down the law for the sake of Christ,” ignoring the heart of the other party (I say all that carefully as I can). Be mindful of shouting Olympic-level swimming Instructions while ignoring the fact that the kid is 2 and drowning. And be mindful of enforcing rules of a game that another simply isn't playing.
This is also for those who are dealing with someone who is a “strong believer”—a term I don’t really know what to do with, it’s not my favorite at the moment. Instead of placing a term like that on someone and operating at face value, I reckon we check in more deeply and patiently to see where they’re actually at. Don’t let appearances fool you. Listen to the words, the tone, watch the energy. Love them based on the “them” who’s actually in control, and do so patiently. Some days, in a 22-year-old man it’s a 9-year-old boy, afraid that he’s bad or unloveable, running the show. If they are indeed playing by your rules—a fancy of way of saying, " following Jesus" or "apprenticing under Jesus" (a phrase I read in a book recently), then offer accountability along with encouragement and have faith for God to bring a change of heart in time.
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compasisonate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rules in your hearts, to which indeed you were called to one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:12-17)
Again I say be blessed,
Kev
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