Bear and Share

Over the last few years, a certain retailer has adopted furry bears as their symbol of Christmas. Despite their obvious marketing mercenary intent, Christmas is a good time to remind us of Gal.6:2, "...to bear one-another's burdens, and thus fulfil the law of Christ".

However, as we read further, Gal.6:5 gives an almost contradictory directive to "bear our own burdens". As we read Paul's letters elsewhere, we discover the reason - certain Christians at that time, in anticipation of Christ's imminent return, gave up working themselves, and essentially lived off the charity of their fellow Christians. But this is not the "law of Christ" - we have no 'right' to take, but we all have the responsibility to Bear and Share.

The 'socialist' says "What's yours is mine", but the Christian says "What's mine is yours". To the economic rationalist, the outcome might be the same in either case, but the spiritual outcomes are totally opposite. To me, a major symptom of the problems with some social changes of the last 15-20 years has been the decline in voluntary workers, from service clubs membership, to charities resorting to paid fund-raisers.

Bearing each others burdens and sharing our wealth is a spiritual issue, not an economic, legislative issue.

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The more you give, the more you get, The more you laugh, the less you fret, The more you do unselfishly, The more you live abundantly. The more of everything you share, The more you'll always have to spare. The more you love, the more you'll find, That life is good and friends are kind, For only in what we give away Enriches us from day to day. (Source unknown)
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