Sharing the Load

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12; Galatians 5:25-6:10

What does it look like to live in Spirit-filled community? Galatians 5:25-6:10 answers that question by showing us four attitudes and actions that we should have toward each other and four that we should have toward ourselves.

Four attitudes and actions towards each other

1. Don't be conceited (5:25). This means don't look down on others.
   
2. Restore gently one who has fallen into sin (6:1). One possible response to someone's sin is to ignore it. That's easy. Another response is to come down on that person hard with condemnation and rejection. We are called to restore that person.
3. Carry each others' burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ (6:2). What is the law of Christ? Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.
4. Do good to all (6:10). You will reap what you sow. But don't be weary in doing good. 

How we look at ourselves

1. Take pride in yourself (6:3-4). What? Pride? The context makes clear that this does not justify conceit and boasting. Romans 12 calls us to think about ourselves with sober judgment. Once you know who God has made you to be, then you can celebrate the person that God has made you to be without comparing yourself with others. 
2. Be careful lest you be tempted (6:1). Don't be tempted to think that you are better than other people who have fallen into sin.
3. Carry your own load (6:5). How do we understand this? "Load" is different than the word "burden" used earlier. A burden is something too heavy for us to carry on our own. The word in verse 5 is a day pack that a soldier might carry. This implies personal responsibility to work and provide for one's own needs.
4. Don't sow seeds of selfishness (6:8). Instead, serve one another in love.

Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion

1. Do you tend toward puffing yourself up or putting yourself down? Do you see how both are equally wrong? Do you know who you are, what gifts God has given you, and who God has made you to be? Have you accepted those things from God as gifts from him? 
2. Do you tend to ignore other people's sins or come down too harshly on them? What would gently restoring that person look like?
3. If you were carrying a heavy burden that you didn't think you could continue to bear by yourself, how would you want someone else to come and help you along? How might you bear others' burdens in this same way?