How to bear burdens
Paul the Apostle, Russian icon from first quarter of 18th cen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ . . . . For every man shall bear his own burden.” ( Galatians 6:2 , 5) This is one of the most commonly cited Bible “contradictions.” The apostle Paul commanding us, almost in the same breath, to bear other people’s burdens and yet to bear our own burdens. There is, however, no real contradiction, and both commands are equally valid and important. The problem is partly one of translation. There are two Greek words used ere, baros and phortion , respectively. The first means “heavy load,” the second, “responsibility.” When a Christian friend has been stricken with a great burden—whether sickness, financial need, death of a loved one, or even a grievous sin in his life which he has been unable to overcome by his own strength (see verse 1)—he needs desperately the love and support of his Christian brethren . Th