Little Chats With God

Posts Tagged ‘compassion’

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2Galatians 6:2
English: World English Bible - WEB
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

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Lord, I remember that “flower power” song of the 60s, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.” For all the things that were wrong in that era, I guess we got a few things right. It seems the sentiment of that song was a reflection of Your Word in this verse.

It’s so easy for us to get caught up in our own lives, Lord. Whether it’s the day-to-day nitty-gritty stuff, or the major dramas, we get focused on ourselves and those who are closest to us, so much so that we can lose sight of the needs of others around us. And it seems that the further those needs are away from us, the more invisible they become. I read once that it takes one violent death in the immediate neighborhood to make the news, but thousands on the other side of the world.

What’s worse, when we do become aware of the needs of others, often we see that awareness as an unwelcome intrusion. Either we are too busy carrying our own burdens to be even remotely concerned about carrying someone else’s, or we are comfortable in our own little cocoon where, for the moment at least, everything is sweet, and we don’t want any negatives to upset our applecart.

Yet, Lord, it seems to me that whether we like it or not, we are affected by the things that affect other people. The fact that there is poverty in the world makes us all poorer. The fact that there is injustice makes us all less free. The fact that there is crime and terrorism makes us all less secure. It is only the degree to which we are affected that is different.

That being so, it seems only reasonable that we should seek to make positive change in our world. The burden we carry for another today is the burden we will not need to carry for ourselves tomorrow.

Help me, Lord, to look beyond my own immediate interests, and where possible to help carry the burdens of others.