Galatians 6:6

Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. It’s not surprising that Paul spoke so clearly about the need to care for teachers in the early Church. They had a crucial role, and if they were not supported by the financial gifts of the church members, they would starve. The Galatian Christians needed to be reminded of their responsibilities. When Paul wrote to his young colleague Timothy, he referred to the need to show respect for church leaders and to ensure that they were well paid. He used an interesting verse from the Old Testament to support this view: “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4). Perhaps you hadn’t thought of comparing your church leader to an ox, but the point was clear – the church members needed to accept the responsibility to provide for their teachers and leaders. Churches are far more organised these days, and most churches have a very thoughtful and responsible way of financing and supporting their ministers, but it is still important for church members to be alert to their responsibilities. I have known many ministers suffer significantly because of the thoughtlessness of church members, who have simply assumed that their leaders were well provided for, unaware of financial and housing needs. Some have even thought that it was appropriate for their church leaders to suffer as part of their Christian calling. Such immoral thinking is deeply shocking and, happily, I sense that it is increasingly rare. Everyone, whatever their work, needs to be well cared for in order to be truly effective. Christian teachers and leaders are no different. We all need to accept our part of the responsibility for ensuring, in the words of the apostle Paul, that all good things are shared with them.

Question Are you convinced that your own church leaders are well provided for?

Prayer Lord God, I thank you for my church leaders. Help me to always do what I can to ensure that they receive all the support and encouragement that they need. Amen

Galatians 6:4-5

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct. In the previous couple of verses, Paul spoke of the importance of helping other people to carry their heavy burdens. Now, he reminds them that they have got their own burden to bear. The word he uses is also used of a soldier’s pack. We all have a certain amount that we have to carry by ourselves. We have specific responsibilities to bear, and we just need to get on with it and do the very best that we can. When our lives come to an end, the Lord will not ask us whether we lived like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Martin Luther or Mother Theresa. He will ask us whether we lived the lives that he called [itals]us[end itals] to live. Perhaps you have the awesome responsibility of being a shop worker, a cleaner, a teacher, an accountant, an MP or a carer. Whatever it is, God wants us to be the best that we can be. Comparing ourselves to other people totally misses the point because the Lord is not calling us to be anybody other than the person we are. Spending energy comparing ourselves with others or feeling we’ve failed because we are not more like someone else is a complete waste of time. Each of us has our own pack to carry. Imperfect as it inevitably is, we need to get on and make the most of what God has put in our hands. That’s exactly what the apostle Paul did. He was faced with a continual barrage of criticism, and sometimes violent opposition. He had to live with his thorn in the flesh, which was a continual burden for him, but he knew he had a job to do and he got on with it. May God bless us today as we seek to do just the same.

Question What is the work that God has called you to do?

Prayer Lord God, thank you that you are with me every moment of every day. Help me to always give my best to you. Amen

Galatians 6:2-3

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. We live in a society that appears to be far more interested in rights than responsibilities. Rights are clearly crucial. The right to free speech, health, safety, care and justice are fundamental to society. However, none of them will ever happen unless we are all willing to take responsibility. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks powerfully put it: “Without responsibility, rights are a cheque on an empty account.” Here, Paul describes the Church as a community of people, each of whom needs to take responsibility for carrying other people’s burdens. He had no thought of the Church as being there for us to gain inspiration and support so that we can live independent lives. Sharing other people’s burdens doesn’t happen quickly. It is a tragedy that for so many people, the experience of Church is confined to attending worship services. Good as it is to worship with other people, such occasions are rarely an opportunity to get to know people well, let alone learn what their burdens are. Having refreshments and meals alongside worship can start to open up opportunities to get to know others, but it is normally only in small groups or one-to-one conversations that such deep sharing takes place. I am delighted to hear that some people are using these daily devotional thoughts as a basis for meeting with a small group of people. As they meet, it gives an opportunity to share the joys and struggles of life and to give real support to one another. Paul identifies one of the reasons why you might not want to help someone else: you think you are too important. However, there’s another reason why you might not feel able to help, and it’s probably more common: you think you are too unimportant and assume that you would never be able to help. We all need to be willing. Willing to listen and to learn and to stretch out a hand to help.

Question In what ways are you able to bear other people’s burdens?

Prayer Loving God, thank you for those people who have been so willing to support me. Help me to always be willing to stretch out a hand to help others. Amen