Responsibility

“For each will have to bear his own load.” (Galatians 6:5, ESV)

It started early on in the history of man. You will remember that Adam and Eve partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the only thing that Lord God gave them as a prohibition in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15-17). Yet the serpent lured Eve to partake from the forbidden tree and then Adam, who was with her, also partook. After they did so, they saw that they were naked and sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves and hid from the Lord God in the garden.

After this, when the Lord God called to Adam in the garden, he responded that he was in hiding and afraid because he was naked. In the dialogue, the Lord God asked Adam and Eve if they had eaten from the forbidden tree. Here are their responses.

“The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’” Then “The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” (Genesis 3:11–13, ESV)

This is the start of a great problem of the fallen nature that has plagued all humanity from that time on. It is that of not taking personal responsibility for one’s attitudes, actions, and obligations.

In Galatians chapter 6, verse 5, Paul relates that “each will have to bear his own load.” There are two ways to look at this verse.

One is in context with the previous two verses. It is that every believer must judge his own actions, not on a relativistic scale, but recognizing his personal responsibility for staying on the path of righteousness. Every believer has a responsibility for his own Christian walk, as seen in Galatians 5:16, which states, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, ESV). Believers are to overcome the lures of the sinful nature by following the leadership of the Spirit in life.

The other to view this verse, that “each will have to bear his own load,” is that each believer has certain obligations of the Christian life. In context with Galatians chapter six verses 1 and 2, this would mean that believers have an obligation to fulfill the Law of Christ. This would mean to love others, by helping them carry life’s heavy burdens, and restoring a brother or sister in Christ who has been caught in any transgression.

When we consider these two views, it makes sense that both thoughts are correct and connected. All believers have a personal responsibility to walk by the Spirit and not indulge the sinful nature. In addition, believers have an obligation to fulfill the command to obey the law of Christ, that is to love one another. Believers have personal responsibility in both areas. Moreover, the only way a believer can fulfill both obligations is to live by the leading of the Holy Spirit.