Carrying Burdens

BY Scarlet Hiltibidal

The most recent too-heavy thing I attempted to carry was an old TV (the non-flat, anciently bulbous kind) that we inherited from my husband’s grandfather. 

We just moved into a new house and the thing is, other than its girth, it’s a perfectly good TV, and also, I like to get things done quickly and also-also, I don’t like asking for help. I enjoy the feeling of self-sufficiency. I love doing things I shouldn’t be able to do and then going to sleep at night thinking, I did that thing. I carried that giant Y2K-era TV up the stairs all by myself despite the fact that I haven’t worked out in over ten years! 

My dad jokes that the women in my family get things done by sheer force. Of course, that approach is significantly limited. Someday I’ll encounter a TV that’s too big for me. My strength, no matter how much I prefer self-sufficiency, doesn’t go very far. And when it comes to spiritual and emotional burdens, my limitations, and yours, are even more obvious. We can all think of times we’ve tried to carry the burden of our sin or suffering alone, and it just doesn’t work. We fall back down the stairs and our decades-old, TV-sized shame, pins us to the floor.

Here’s the problem—believing you can carry things that are too heavy for you, be it a television the size of a small train or a secret sin, is an illusion that will eventually destroy you. Crush you. Put you on your back or on your knees.

Something I find beautiful about today’s reading is how humble obedience, gentle love, and Christ-focused service are tied into our joy! The Bible makes a big deal about humble, holy living because we serve a holy God who humbled Himself and bent down to carry the things we could not. It’s amazing. We are broken human beings, not capable of carrying the weight of sin. But, incredibly, Jesus stooped to meet us and died to free us so that we could have His power.

Today’s passages urge us to love people from a place of humility. Of gentleness. Of openness. Of service.

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” —Galatians 6:2

If you’re like me, you might be thinking, “I don’t want people to carry my burdens. That means I’m weak!” But, God tells us yes, we are absolutely weak. That’s why we need Him. That’s why we need each other. Put down the TV. You are not alone.