Pam's Perambulation

Help Each Other

6 My friends, you are spiritual. So if someone is trapped in sin, you should gently lead that person back to the right path. But watch out, and don’t be tempted yourself. ² You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.

³ If you think you are better than others, when you really aren’t, you are wrong. ⁴ Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don’t compare yourself with others. ⁵ We each must carry our own load.

⁶ Share every good thing you have with anyone who teaches you what God has said.

⁷ You cannot fool God, so don’t make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. ⁸ If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. ⁹ Don’t get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don’t give up. ¹⁰ We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.

Final Warnings

¹¹ You can see what big letters I make when I write with my own hand.

¹² Those people who are telling you to get circumcised are only trying to show how important they are. And they don’t want to get into trouble for preaching about the cross of Christ. ¹³ They are circumcised, but they don’t obey the Law of Moses. All they want is to brag about having you circumcised. ¹⁴ But I will never brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his cross, the world is dead as far as I am concerned, and I am dead as far as the world is concerned.

¹⁵ It doesn’t matter if you are circumcised or not. All that matters is that you are a new person.

¹⁶ If you follow this rule, you will belong to God’s true people. God will treat you with undeserved kindness and will bless you with peace.

The writer to the Galatians reminds us not to think we are better than others – because if we do, we’re wrong!  We are to worry about our work, and let others worry about their own.  We are not to spend out time and energy comparing how we are doing with how we think others are doing.  Firstly, we will no doubt be wrong, because we don’t know all their circumstances; and secondly, it is not our business, but theirs.  We are responsible for how we carry our load.  They are responsible for theirs – not us.  And whatever we think – we cannot fool God – who actually knows…

Our role here is not to follow our own selfish desires and whims – but to help others.  Not to criticise or judge how they carry their load – but to help them.  It’s not about the right show, but truly doing the right thing – when others are looking and when they are not.

We have done nothing worthy of bragging about – there is only what God has done in us.  None of it is our doing, but his generosity and goodness to us.

So we look not at what we think we’ve achieved, or what we consider others haven’t, but what God is doing in each one of us – and we give thanks.

Forgive me Lord,
for the times I have felt myself to be better,
when I have thought I was doing the right thing,
whilst wondering about others.

Help me to remember
that I do not know the truth of their lives,
I don’t see what you see.

May my focus be only on living for you
and helping others carry the loads they bear,
that together we may live as your people