Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

–Parallel verses:
‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭24‬-‭27‬
A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles Lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.”

We like titles on this earth: job titles, political titles, titles of authority, titles of merit, titles recognizing wealth or beauty. These titles can seem to give us a status of importance or worth. And titles in and of themselves are not wrong,but they can, if coveted and used to gain benefit over others, be tools for sin.

On earth, the prince of this world, The Devil, uses comparative standards to make us feel good about ourselves. “She gave less”, “he didn’t work as hard”, and “I am smarter or more talented than those people”, are all thoughts that can roam around in our heads, without a focus on the servant leadership standard Jesus sets.

And Paul is encouraging the Galatians here to carry each other’s burdens. Notice he does not carve out the exit clause on this command that our minds gravitate to. These “cop outs” sound like this: “They dug their own hole, let them get themselves out,” “If only they would have saved more money for the hard times,” and “it is not in my budget to help them right now.”

He simply says: “Carry each other’s burdens and in that way fulfill the law of Christ.”

And what does he mean to “fulfill the law of Christ?” Jesus modeled a life lived in fulfillment to the heart of the law throughout his life. This is documented in the gospels throughout. And in specific, he spoke about the real heart behind God’s law in Matthew 5-7, called the Sermon on the Mount. He started this teaching with The Beatitudes, the targeted ways to operate as a child of God in relationship to others. Then he says in ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭17: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” He later goes on to set standards of the heart attitudes and motives behind the actions the law requires. Some highlights are: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (5:43)”, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all of these things will be added to you as well (6:33)”, “in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, with the same measure you use, it will be measured out to you (7:2).”

So when we look at the fulfillment of the law, Jesus was not talking about rules, but living as he did— out of humility and reverence to God and as a servant to all. Blessings come to those who serve God and others first!

The point is not that we should never let people experience the natural consequences for their actions. Sometimes we should do just that. But God also wants us to be merciful and gracious, not always having logic or preplanning drive every decision in helping others. Sometimes his Spirit is calling us to drop everything and just lend a hand. And when we do this, we do it humbly, not Lording it over them or making them feel bad. We serve, plain and simple.

Lord, forgive me for the many times I have made excuses to not lend a helping hand. In my pride, I think I am not able in my own strength, and in my selfish thinking I forget that your power is made perfect in my weakness (II Corinthians 12:9). Renew in me the heart of a servant leader, I pray!