"Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ…All must test their own work…for all must carry their own loads." (Gal 6:2,4,5, NRSV)

Sharing burdens instead of disabling with dependencies

Which is it? Do we bear each other's burdens, or must everyone carry their own load? How can we be a partner and not instantly offer to bear the load jointly? Paul's admonitions dig deep into the multi-layered sod of partnership. Both burden bearing and refraining from load sharing build up Christ's Kingdom.

During a visit to rural India with a PCUSA partner, the Rural Presbyterian Church (RPC), I learned about the RPC's outstanding work of expanding the Church among the Dalit, or "oppressed" outcastes of India’s Hindu influences.

One day in a broad, caked-mud village center, two Americans and I drew a large crowd. Sensing their friendliness, we began an impromptu Q&A session. We asked the villagers, "What do you need? What would improve your lives?" We thought the seemingly innocuous questions would give us some helpful information, and true to form, they showered us with answers.

Later, a leader of the RPC took us to task for asking those questions. "Don't you know that asking people what they need is the single quickest way to make them dependent on you, rather than helping them gain ground on their own? If they answer you sincerely, they may easily think you have the resources to give them what they listed off to you! And when you fail to deliver, then you have to overcome even more barriers to truly helping them rise from their condition."

Discovering the difference between helpful burden sharing and disabling load bearing is essential for the sake of the growth of God's Kingdom. We need to train our eyes to discern needs around us and in the world, and how to address them in partnership with our international friends so that we avoid creating unrealistic expectations or chart their course toward dependencies.

-- Dave Hackett