Bearing each other’s burdens.

How many times have you heard people saying, “Every one to himself and God for us all?” The world has changed greatly to an extent that we do not even care about who lives next door. I have seen cases where people do not even know who lives in their neighborhood. Gone are the days when we all lived as one family and we were always there for each other. Often I have heard people saying, “I don’t want to know.” You might not want to know but do you know that your knowing can help make the world a better place for another individual to live in?

Today in our “busy lives” we assume not to have time to bear each other’s burdens. However it is the fear within us that makes us neglect others. The burdens we have are making us slaves in our lives and we have no one to talk to because we don’t know how to approach these burdens. Usually we say we are over weighed by our burdens but the moment we start bearing others burdens, we shall not have time to think about our burdens. Below are a few things which I believe can be very helpful in bearing others burdens.

1- Be willing to get involved in their life – In order to help an individual overcome his/her burden you should have the willingness to get involved in their lives. This gives you an in-depth understanding of their burden. The moment you are willing to get involved in an individual’s life it helps ease their tensions and thus open up to you.

2- Have the right purpose in mind – It is very important that as you endeavor to help a person overcome his/her burden you should have the right purpose in mind. Your sole purpose should be to restore that person to a better life and take him/her out of the current situation. If you go with a different motive trust me, you will just make things worse or even fall out with them.

3- Be trust worthy – People should see something in your life to trust you. Have you ever wondered why it takes long for people to tell others they are having problems? Well it is because they do not trust those individuals and believe that if they tell them, then the “whole world will know.” So your life should depict that you are that person who can be trusted and can keep things or certain matters as confidential material.

4- Accept other people as they are – This is very important in bearing a person’s burden. Many times people blame others for what has happened to them before offering any help. However the moment you learn to accept the fact that all of us make mistakes then you can easily help a person out of the burden. Remember no one is above slipping and falling no matter who you are. So first of all accept others for who or what they are and this will establish a firm foundation upon which you will be able to bear a person’s burden.

5- You must be spiritually minded – Caution should be taken before going out to bear another’s burden. You should seek guidance from the Almighty God about how to handle the situation. This will help you find ways of how to approach a person’s burden and ultimately you will find solutions. Depend on God’s guidance totally. He will give you what to speak and what not to speak. The most significant thing is to pray to God so that he lightens up their heart.

6- Don’t be tongue slip – It is always very important to listen a lot and speak less while an individual is telling you his/her problem. You should listen to their thoughts and keep it to yourself. There are individuals who rush to just speak before they even hear the whole story and in so doing make false conclusions which can’t help solve the problem. So it is vital to control your tongue and speak when it is necessary.

7- Gentleness – You should have the attitude of gentleness. Gentleness has no hurry and no rush. This is because restoration does not come quickly. So you should be loving, caring, kind and most important of all forgiving. This will create a special environment for solving the problem.

8- Feel the weight of the other person – As you approach an individual to help overcome the burden, put yourself in their place and ask yourself what you would have done in the same circumstance. “Be in the shoes of the burdened person.” This enables you to fully understand what they are going through and thus you can easily help lift the burden.

Life can be challenging at times and when you look around you have no one to run too for a solution. God is the solution to all our needs and he always provides a way for us where there seems to be no way. That is why he created us and made us brothers and sisters so that we can assist each other in the struggles of life.

You are an earthly liberator of someone who is suffering. You should thus be ready, available and your life will be used to restore that person to a better place. Love is the greatest tool in bearing one another’s burden and it can break all boundaries. So if you are still worrying about your burdens, why not try helping others to overcome theirs. This will lighten your life and in so doing others will do the same for you. Remember “Do for others what you would have them do for you.”