In my devotional reading I have been going through Galatians—a book very deep and interesting. In Galatians 6 there is a well-known section that some see as self-contradictory. I must admit, when simply skimmed, it causes one to double-take and ask, “Paul, what are you saying here?” This is Galatians 6:1-5. In 6:2 Paul commands, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (NIV). Then in 6:5 he says, “For each should carry his own load” (NIV). So which is it? Are we to carry each other’s burdens or carry our own? Interestingly, the answer is “yes and yes” (Sorry, but years of studying philosophy lead one to give answers like this). What appears to be a contradiction is easily explained and will be useful to show one of the most basic rules of Biblical interpretation.

It is natural to wonder if an answer can be found in the original language. The problem is that both Greek terms are, according to Verbrugge, used interchangeably. But this does help us understand a bit of what is happening. I find it interesting that in such a construction Paul chose to use two words that mean ultimately the same thing instead of just using the same word twice. He seems to want to trigger a sense of difference.

Just as important as word choice is the surrounding context of each usage. This is actually where we will find our answer. We forget that one word can have different meanings according to how and where it is used. This causes a common error in reasoning known as equivocation where a term is used two different ways in an argument without taking into account the differences in usage. One famous example that will help you to see this is:

• Premise 1: Nothing is better than eternal happiness.
• Premise 2: A ham sandwich is better than nothing.
• Conclusion: A ham sandwich is better than eternal happiness.

In the example the word “nothing” has two different meanings. In Galatians 6:1-5, we have two different “loads” being discussed. One must be shared; the other, borne by the individual.

The first burden spoken about is the burden of a sinning brother or sister. In this case we are to lovingly lift them up and restore the sinner. Doing this, sharing this burden of sin and guilt, fulfills the law of Christ (6:1f). The second burden is the burden of our service for God (6:3-5). We are to judge our actions and self honestly, without comparison to the work of another. In this way we bear our own burden and not that of another.

To illustrate the second burden, look at something that is very common among pastors. When two pastors get together there are two things they want to know about each other before anything else is discussed. One, “How many people attend your church?” Two, “How many people can your church building hold?” We hear those numbers and do “holy math” to figure out who has the bigger church and is therefore the alpha dog. I see this as the pastoral version of two dogs sniffing each other. Often we determine our own success or failure by how our ministry compares to the ministry of another pastor. This is wrong though because I am responsible to bear my own burden and not his.

When interpreting scripture context is king! An old adage that I like is, “A text without a context is a pretext.” Words alone give little details of meaning; the complete picture is painted by the context.

In Galatians 5:16f, we are told that if we are living in the Spirit we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. We are also told that the two—the Spirit and the sinful nature—contend against each other with different desires. Paul goes on to say, in 5:24, those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature, with its passions and desires.

The last part gives a graphic image I’ll try to share. Crucifixion was a familiar punishment in Paul’s day. Every major city would have crosses of dead and dying flanking the gates to warn those entering the city what could happen. Those reading Paul’s letter would know this and see crucifixion as certain death—no one came off a cross alive. They would also be aware that once dead, most were left on the cross to rot. Paul tells them, in light of this, that their sinful nature had been placed on the cross and remained there. Our sinful natures are dead and hanging on the cross to rot. When we choose to surrender to sinful desires we choose to remove them from the cross and play with them. The pleasure we get is in spite of the fact that we are playing with a corpse.

This morning while reading in Galatians 5, I was impressed with verse 26, which says, “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other” (NIV). This passage shows us something very true about human nature that most of us would like to deny. Provoking and envying are rooted in our image of ourselves and others.

This is easier to show with envy so I will start there. When you have something beneficial, whether a physical object or a beneficial arrangement, others may envy your good fortune.  While it is acceptable to be inspired by another’s success, to be driven to envy is not. Envy, as the negative side of desire, is born of believing you deserve the desired object (or blessing) as much as or more than the other person. Envy grows from viewing one’s self as of equal or greater status than another and seeing the success of another as an attack on that belief. Seeing one’s equality is not bad. We are all equal in God’s eyes, but when you believe the success of another actually makes you less equal then envy grows and we act to reestablish equality. Feeling you are greater than another is not bad when it is expressed as “this person can do something, but I can do it better.” If this is true, then believing it is not conceited—we are supposed to believe the truth. Conceit causes us to see the other person as less deserving than ourselves. We then see their success as a personal injustice. This causes us to envy them.

The other result of conceit is provoking. When we see our own happiness as more important than that of another we often provoke that person. We attack and pick at them because it is their role to make us happy as a part of the universe of which we are the center. We’ve all seen bullies picking on other children. This can happen when the bully himself feels vulnerable and seeks to mask his weakness by demonstrating and attacking another’s weakness. Of course this springs from an idea within the bully that he and his feelings are important enough to reduce the other person to being a tool. The attacker assumes a right to use the other person, regardless of the other person’s feelings.  Another reason people might provoke one another is the belief that the other person exists for their entertainment and that their ability to attack the other gives them a right to attack them. Either of these is an example of what Kant would have seen as using someone else as a means to an end, rather than seeing them as an end in themselves. I have no right to reduce you to a tool for my own purposes. It is conceit that inspires this behavior.

Another reason we provoke is because we believe the other person needs our guidance to live and act properly. We see ourselves as the other person’s personal conduit to the Holy Spirit. While I might love you enough to provoke you to righteousness and to seek your own best as a servant of God, this does not give me the right to provoke you to do what I want or what I believe you must do. There is a difference between seeing myself as your encourager to act and your guide to action. When we get conceited, we often believe our own understanding of the Word is special and that of others is suspect. Because of this, we provoke them to follow us rather than encouraging them to follow God. This too is conceit in action.

Each of us was created for God’s purposes. We have been created to serve him. Even though he has given us individual gifts and talents, no combination of such makes one superior to another or more deserving in God’s sight. So, when another receives a blessing it’s between the recipient and God. If you do not receive such, rather than blaming those who did receive by attacking them or envying them, look at yourself—your own decisions, your own devotion—to see if there is a reason blessings are withheld from you. More often than not, you will find you have received exactly what you deserved or have not received because you did not deserve. If honest, we understand that what we received from God was far more than we deserved. When you understand the world this way there is little room for provocation or envy among God’s people.