Feb 28 Bears in the Bible

Feb 28

Bears in the Bible?

Ga 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens

Ga 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

During my study of the book of Galations I noticed there were two bears in chapter six.

The first one said to bear one another’s burdens, and then a few verses later it says to bear your own burdens.  Huh? At first it sounded like a contradiction. Whenever I read something in the Bible that does not make sense to me or seems like it is a contradiction I know immediately that the Bible is right and my understanding is inadequate. Such is the case with verses two and five in this chapter.

Before I discuss these two verses please understand I do not know any Greek or Hebrew. I don’t prefer talking about Greek or Hebrew. First because I do not want people to think they have to know Greek or Hebrew to understand the Bible. Secondly I do not want to create the impression I possess a deeper understanding of the scriptures because I refer to original languages. But now anyone with a computer and a $7 Bible program can have access to both Hebrew and Greek with their definitions. That is how I looked up the Greek for this study.

In addition to knowing the meaning of the words in a verse the context needs to be established as well. In chapter five Paul is telling the brethren at the church in Galatia that they do not need to keep the law. They should guard against anyone who came in and tried to tell them they did have to follow Old Testament Jewish laws. They were free. They had Christian liberty.

In chapter six he reminds them that while liberty frees them from the Old Testament laws, it does not free them from basic Christian duties; Love God, Love others. (Matt 22:37-40) That is what he is addressing in our verse today.

The Greek word translated as burden is a word that means weight and by implication a heavy weight. Do we see a brother who is overtaken by some sin? Instead of condemning and judging them, we are to find some way to help the wayward brother.  Do we see a brother struggling under a financial burden?  Then we should find some way to help bear that burden. Bearing one another’s burdens is not just donating money. It is loving them enough to provide understanding and help. Giving money to someone who has a problem with alcohol or gambling is not love, it is enabling!  Bearing their burden would mean finding some way to help them stop the self-destructive behavior.  

But verse 5 says we should bear our own burdens!  Here the Greek word translated as burden is not the same as in verse two. Two different Greek words were translated with the same English word. Here the word means “invoice” as a bill for services rendered.  How does that definition help?  The answer is that a person does not send an invoice for work someone else has done. They send an invoice for work that they have done.  Bear your own burden means there is work that you are responsible for completing. No one can do it for you, it is work that you must do on your own.  No one can love others for you. You have to love others yourself. You must love God on your own, no one can do that for you. It can all be summed up with the “law of Christ” which is love God and love others.     

Paul was writing to the brethren in Galatia that were troubled by those who wanted them to add the Jewish practice to their Christian freedom.  Now we see these two seemingly contradictory verses fit together. Paul does a little word play for the brethren who were concerned about keeping the law.  If they wanted a law to keep they should keep the “law of Christ.” 

Mt 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?Mt 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

There is the answer to our two verses.  Verse two, “bear ye one another’s burdens”  - love thy neighbor.  And in Ga 6:5 “For every man shall bear his own burden.”  Love God.  Paul was telling the Galatians who had some scoundrels telling them they had to keep the Jewish laws that they were free from the law. All the Galations needed was to Love God and love others. It was all they needed to do.

Come to think of it, I think that lesson still applies to us today.   

 

NOTE  The Bible computer program I mentioned is Power Bible. I have several copies that I will mail to anyone sends me $5.  Just Email me (davidwiseley@gmail.com) for details or order direct from powerbible.com I bought several copies for a discounted price. I have no financial interests in this program.