Lesson 26: Bearing the Right Burdens
Read Galatians 6:1-18 - www.bible.com/bible/59/gal.6
1 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.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.
5 For each will have to bear his own load.

As we learn to walk with the Spirit, we also learn how to walk with our fellow believers in Jesus. Our verses today give us Godly guidance for keeping our relationship with other believers His way as we help them (or they help us) along the way.

Verse 1 says we are to restore those who we see are caught in sin. This is to be done gently, as we also read in Ephesians 4:15 that we speak the truth, but always in love because we understand it could be us in this same situation. We help them come back to fellowship with God just as we would want them to help us if we were in this same trouble.


Verse 2 says we carry each other’s burdens. And yet, Verse 5 says we each must carry our own load. How are we to know when we are to help and when we are not to help? The answer is that we must be discerning as to why the person needs the help. Both James 2:15 and 1 John 3:17 tell us if we have the ability to help someone who is in need, we must give the help. But in each of these verses the word “sees” makes this a qualified command – we must be in contact with the individual so we can personally see and know if the need is real. This is because the kind of help we are NOT to give is to the person who is able to work but not willing to do so. In 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 we read that someone who is unwilling to work when they are able to do so should not be given even food to eat because this only encourages them to be lazy.

Verse 3 warns us against comparing ourselves with others. Both kinds of comparison – whether we think ourselves better than someone or think ourselves worse than someone – are destructive to Christian unity. Romans 12:3 says we are to do honest evaluations of ourselves and others around us. Remember, every Christian has been given at least one spiritual gift to help the local church. True and honest evaluation among us as a body of believers will show us who has which gift, and each person should be encouraged to use their gift for that church. We should never be jealous of someone who has a gift we wish we had; that is the sin of covetousness. If you do not know your own gift, submit yourself completely to be used by God in whatever way He wants to use you, and then serve Him with a glad heart.

*What is your greatest strength, and weakness, in working closely with other believers?