In Galatians 6:2-5, the Bible teaches us to help one another and carry each other's burdens. This means that when someone is going through a tough time or facing difficulties, we should be there to support and assist them. We can pray for them, offer a helping hand, lend a listening ear, or provide encouragement. By sharing their burdens, we show kindness and love, just as God wants us to. By carrying one another's burdens we show our love for God and for people.
But carrying the burdens of others doesn't mean that their problems become our problems to solve. That's why Paul told us to test our own actions and to carry our load. When we test our own actions, we manage our expectations of others and ourselves.
One way to test your actions is to ask the question: Am I caring too little or am I carrying too much? Caring too little? Carry the burdens of those around you. Love them. Care for them. Be with them. Carrying too much? Don't allow responsibility for the load to shift to you. Your job is to carry the burden. Their job is to carry the load.
Jesus teaches us a simple way to guard ourselves against shifting their responsibility to us. He taught: let your yes be yes and your no be no. No is a complete sentence. Yes is a complete sentence. Learning to say "Yes!" when you are needed to carry a burden and "No." when you are expected to carry the load is a key step in developing healthy boundaries that are best for us and better for others.
Can it be as simple as one question and 2 words? Yes, it can because that is how the Bible teaches us to live.
But carrying the burdens of others doesn't mean that their problems become our problems to solve. That's why Paul told us to test our own actions and to carry our load. When we test our own actions, we manage our expectations of others and ourselves.
One way to test your actions is to ask the question: Am I caring too little or am I carrying too much? Caring too little? Carry the burdens of those around you. Love them. Care for them. Be with them. Carrying too much? Don't allow responsibility for the load to shift to you. Your job is to carry the burden. Their job is to carry the load.
Jesus teaches us a simple way to guard ourselves against shifting their responsibility to us. He taught: let your yes be yes and your no be no. No is a complete sentence. Yes is a complete sentence. Learning to say "Yes!" when you are needed to carry a burden and "No." when you are expected to carry the load is a key step in developing healthy boundaries that are best for us and better for others.
Can it be as simple as one question and 2 words? Yes, it can because that is how the Bible teaches us to live.