DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Helping Others
by Kathleen Serio
I remember carrying a stack of boxes around and a friend comes up and offers to help. I happily accept the help, but instead of the part of the boxes I offer, the friend takes the whole stack themself. When I read this passage, that was the first thing that came to mind. My friend came along and fully showed what it meant to “carry each other’s burdens” (V 2).
Then, after a while, I will see that friend struggling with their own stack of boxes and I offer to help, but unlike her, I cannot take the whole stack. What I can do is take part of the stack to lighten her load. It’s then that I get caught up in my own head and feel like I am a lesser friend. However, this passage reminds me that I shouldn’t feel like that. It reminds me that, although I should help others, that doesn’t mean that I should compare my help to the help someone else gives. Just because my help isn’t the same as another’s does not make my help any less.
This passage also reminds us that when we help others it should not be for the sake of being able to compare ourselves to someone else. We should do good because it is what God wants us to do, not so that we can say how wonderful we are. When my friend came over and took that stack of boxes, she didn’t do it so that other people would see how strong she was, or how kind she was. She did it for one simple reason: she loves me and wanted to help. Nothing more, nothing less. She saw someone struggling and knew she could help - so she did.
PRAYER
Dear God, please help us to remember why you ask us to do good. Help us to remember to help each other in any way that we can, not so that we can say how wonderful we are for our good deeds, but so that we can know we are doing what You want of us. God help us to carry each other’s burdens, to do good, to follow your law, and to love each other. And God, thank you for the people you have put in our lives to help us with our own burdens.
I love this example, Kathleen. You have helped me understand this passage better. Carrying each other's burdens helps each of us get through life. Thank you.