Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

Galatians 6:1-3

Dear God, I love the end of this passage: You are not that important. That’s just something to always remember.

My wife and I talked last night about the whole idea of sharing others’ burdens and how hard that can be. She told me a story of something she had done that day to show kindness to one of our next door neighbors. I was impressed because what she did definitely would have been outside of my comfort zone. As individuals, there are times when we reach out to others, to be sure, but there are many times when our default position is to be insular and miss the needs (a.k.a. burdens) around us. I felt like her thoughtfulness really ministered to and encouraged me because it showed me a practical way of service.

Father, help me to minister to those around me when I have the chance—whether it be as an individual or with my wife. I know that reaching out is something you have for us to do because there’s a lot of joy you give us when we do. And especially show us how you would have us reach out to and love this neighbor.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen