I read story today that started me to thinking about bearing the burdens of others. I came across the story after briefly hearing about the pain a friend of mine is suffering.
The story is about young father of five, who was struggling to not only support his own family, but the family of his father as well. The young man found work as a security guard to keep protesters away as the government bulldozed slums in Mumbai, India. The job made him heartsick, but he had to work. He worked at the job until the day came when his own home was to be bulldozed. That was when he realized that instead of the government using its money to get rid of the blight, it could instead use the funds to improve the homes. This would, he knew, accomplish the purpose of making the city look better. It would also prevent hundreds of people from becoming homeless.
Although his story was remarkable, it wasn't his story that caught my attention. I wondered why he was also taking care of his father's children. Then, there it was. A simple sentence. His father was an "untouchable," whose job it was in the village to whip himself when bad luck fell upon the people who lived there. An untouchable is someone who is seen as "unclean" and is therefore polluting the community. The untouchables have no rights, and just speaking to one can lead to punishments as severe as death. This is why the young man cared for his father's family. His father could not.
But his father's job was to whip himself when bad luck fell upon his neighbors. Those same neighbors who wouldn't speak or interact with him. The same people who ignored him, no matter what his state of being was. In other words, if he was starving, they ignored him. If he was cold or injured or sick, they didn't care. But he was still expected to punish himself on their behalf.
I thought, what an accurate picture of what Jesus did for mankind. He came to this earth, sort of like an untouchable, and was rejected by his own. He allowed himself to be beaten for the "bad luck" that had fallen upon us – sin and the death it brings. He paid the ultimate price for our state of being.
I wondered, how many of us would go to such an extreme for those who are suffering around us? How many of us would feel another's pain to such a degree that we would be willing to beat ourselves on their behalf? Would we be so willing to step into their shoes and feel their pain? Would we take on that pain as if it were our own?
No one is immune from troubles in this life. Scripture provides us with comfort and support as we bear these burdens. We're taught in the Bible that we must believe God will deliver us from our trials and tribulations. Jesus said, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
But we are also admonished to take on the burdens of others as well. Galatians 6:2 reads: "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
Are we to beat ourselves due to the suffering of others? No. But we are to come alongside our fellow man and lift them up in their suffering. Why is this important?
The best example I can think of is found in Exodus 17. God's army was fighting, and as long as Moses kept his arms up, the outcome was positive. But when his arms came down, the battle was unsuccessful.
Moses was only human. He could only hold his arms up for so long. So Aaron and Hur came alongside him and held his arms up for him. That simple act of friendship not only made things better for Moses, but for all of God's people. Everybody wins.
Beating yourself isn't necessary. But coming alongside others and holding them up as they struggle is.
And everybody wins.
