Bearing Our Own and One Another’s Burdens
By Uriah Smith
“BEAR ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” “For every man shall bear his own burden.” Gal. 6: 2, 5. Previous to the unfolding of Christianity, there were two leading ideas of morality, upon which human conduct was based. These were (1) the idea of self-preservation, or development; and (2) the idea of self-forgetfulness. Out of the first grows responsibility; and out of the second springs the idea of all our efforts for other people. The two passages quoted above from Paul combine the two ideas into complete harmony. “Bear ye one another’s burdens” is the rule of self-forgetfulness. “For every man shall bear his own burden” is the simple rule of self-preservation. And because the harmony between these two statements is so hard to preserve, because we are so apt to be carried away by the one idea to the exclusion of the other, it may be well to consider, for a moment, this seeming paradox. The conviction of humanity, “Bear ye one another’s burdens,” and the apparent duty, “Every man shall bear his own burden,” present a diversity, the solution of which was the problem and despair of the old world before Christianity came. Greek philosophy was rampant individualism. The very antithesis to this was the Buddhist system. Buddhism appeared on the face of it to be the most refined form of what is called “humanism.” But the theoretical self-abandonment of Buddhism contains the fatal defect that just as soon as it is reduced to practical application, its ultimate aim is found to be such an annihilation of self as to amount to nothing less than suicide. The Christian religion escapes this Buddhist universalism. What Paul teaches is for all to go out from themselves and to help others bear their burdens, restore them by the magic touch of fellowship, in the spirit of meekness. Pour out your soul into the struggles and sorrows of others, and so carry out, that is, fulfil, the law of him, who, in the highest sense, and for our example, bore our sorrows. In this way we heed the admonitory instruction found in Luke 9: 23–25, that “whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my [the Lord’s] sake, the same shall save it;” which means that to him who shall be willing and ready to cleave unto the Lord, and be true to him, even though it should cost him his life, the Lord will give eternal life, in the last day: but whosoever shall compromise and dodge the truth, to avoid persecution, and to gain the esteem and good will of men that he may avoid financial and bodily loss, or even to save his life, shall lose his life, or be found wanting in the great day. For, right in this connection, the Lord says, “What is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” Luke 9: 25. The more sympathetic we become, the more will self-reflection grow, and the more we shall discern the truth of the great paradox, that all those who lose their life for Christ’s sake will find it. “For every man shall bear his own burden.” What is his own burden?—It is the burden of his own individuality, which only the man himself can bear. Each individual is exposed to manifold influences by which he may be impressed, drawn aside, turned around, frozen or inflamed, according to the powers that play upon him; but he is himself through them all. No part of his being is drawn away from him, however sensibly he may be affected by the influences around him. His own personality remains. No essential part of the being of others is received into his own. In the eye of God he abides a separate, complete, and individual soul forever. Thus “every man shall bear his own burden.” The burden of responsibility is always borne by the individual man. The individuality holds within itself the elements of moral life. We live in the mass; but we are to be judged one by one. We act and interact, give and take, our whole life through; but each, at every moment, stands responsible before God; and to each the Lord says, as he did to Daniel, “Go thou thy way: . . . for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” Every man shall “bear his own burden” of guilt. If he does not avail himself of the means of deliverance, righteously and graciously provided, by which his guilt may be taken away, it will be his forever, or till he goes down in the second death. Between the wicket gate and the gate of glory, Bunyan placed the hill “Difficulty.” But between these two gates and each of us God puts a great many difficulties. But they have a good end to serve. Difficulties strengthen and compact the soul, give the Christian force, and confirm his faith. And the loads which God lays upon us teach us lessons which can be learned in no other school. Probably the hardest lesson for any of us to learn is to “let God have his own way,” and to “trust him in the dark.” We see how the carrying of our own burdens gives us strength; but there are other loads that we are to help our fellow creatures to carry; and that service is to teach us the beautiful grace of sympathy. The apostle gives the reason for this. It is to “fulfil the law of Christ.” Christ is love; and his law is the law of love. By putting that law into practice every day we who profess to be Christians prove ourselves worthy of the title. There is many a load that grows light by our giving a lift to another. And it will be found that in lightening our own burdens and those of others, there is nothing so effectual as recourse to the sympathy of the Saviour. Many look with both eyes on the defects and failings of others, scarcely giving half an eye to their good qualities; while in themselves they study to the full their own estimate of their own good qualities, and pass by their own weaknesses and defects. Thus one is apt to come under the rebuke of Gal. 6: 3, and to “think himself something” when he is “nothing,” thus “deceiving himself.” There is particular emphasis in the words, “Let every man prove his own work.” We are often too ready to examine and pass sentence upon the works of others. We, like some travelers, become familiar with foreign countries, while woefully ignorant of our own.5 Those who have heavy cares and responsibilities to bear are entitled to respect. It is said of the great Napoleon, that he, with his officers, once met in a country road a peasant bearing a heavy load of fagots. The peasant was about to be jostled out of the way, when Napoleon, laying his hand on the arm of the foremost of his escort, halted the whole party with the remark, “Messieurs, respect the burden.” Let him who thinks he can go on light-loaded and with buoyant heart, while others sink down under their heavy burdens, try this experiment. Let him try to smile with one side of his face, while the other is distorted with agony. There is a gateway opening into a narrow passage in London, over which is written, “No burdens allowed to pass through.” But some one has said, “We do constantly pass through with our burdens.” He referred to heart-burdens which no mortal eyes behold. Mrs. Ella Wheeler Wilcox, the popular poet, closes a poem on “Life’s Journey,” with the following elegant words:— “You shall store all your baggage of worries,
You shall feel perfect peace in that realm,
You shall sail with old friends on fair waters,
With joy and delight at the helm;
You shall wander in cool, fragrant gardens,
With those who have loved you the best,
And the hopes that were lost in life’s journey,
You shall find in the city of rest.”