There is a difference between being responsible and believing everything is your responsibility. That difference can be hard to recognize.
Many of us carry more than we were ever meant to carry. We carry responsibilities at work, needs in our families, concerns about friends, financial pressures, ministry responsibilities, unfinished projects, and expectations we have placed on ourselves. Eventually, the weight begins to show.
In Exodus 18, Moses was trying to lead the people of Israel by handling every problem himself. From morning until evening, people lined up waiting for Moses to help them.
His father-in-law, Jethro, watched what was happening and said something Moses needed to hear: “What you’re doing is not good.”
Moses was doing good work. He was helping people. But even good work can become unhealthy when we believe we have to carry all of it. God calls us to faithfulness, not to carrying everything ourselves. Sometimes the first step is simply admitting, “This is too much.” That is not weakness. It is recognizing that God created us with limits.
Then we need to ask: What has God actually asked me to carry? Galatians 6 gives us an important balance. We are told to carry one another’s burdens, but we are also told that each person should carry their own load. There are burdens we should help people carry. There are responsibilities that belong specifically to us. And there are things we have picked up that were never ours to carry in the first place.
Learning the difference is an important part of healthy leadership and healthy relationships. Maybe someone else can help. Maybe someone else needs the opportunity to grow by taking responsibility. Maybe something does not have to get done today. And maybe there are things you simply need to trust God with. That last one can be the hardest.
We like finished lists, solved problems, answered questions, and clear outcomes. But sometimes faithfulness means ending the day with something still unfinished and trusting that God is still at work.
Take inventory of what you are carrying today. What is yours to carry? What could someone else carry? What have you picked up that belongs to someone else? And what do you simply need to place into God’s hands?
You can care deeply about people without taking responsibility for everything in their lives. You can lead faithfully without doing everything yourself. You can care deeply without carrying everything.
Many of us carry more than we were ever meant to carry. We carry responsibilities at work, needs in our families, concerns about friends, financial pressures, ministry responsibilities, unfinished projects, and expectations we have placed on ourselves. Eventually, the weight begins to show.
In Exodus 18, Moses was trying to lead the people of Israel by handling every problem himself. From morning until evening, people lined up waiting for Moses to help them.
His father-in-law, Jethro, watched what was happening and said something Moses needed to hear: “What you’re doing is not good.”
Moses was doing good work. He was helping people. But even good work can become unhealthy when we believe we have to carry all of it. God calls us to faithfulness, not to carrying everything ourselves. Sometimes the first step is simply admitting, “This is too much.” That is not weakness. It is recognizing that God created us with limits.
Then we need to ask: What has God actually asked me to carry? Galatians 6 gives us an important balance. We are told to carry one another’s burdens, but we are also told that each person should carry their own load. There are burdens we should help people carry. There are responsibilities that belong specifically to us. And there are things we have picked up that were never ours to carry in the first place.
Learning the difference is an important part of healthy leadership and healthy relationships. Maybe someone else can help. Maybe someone else needs the opportunity to grow by taking responsibility. Maybe something does not have to get done today. And maybe there are things you simply need to trust God with. That last one can be the hardest.
We like finished lists, solved problems, answered questions, and clear outcomes. But sometimes faithfulness means ending the day with something still unfinished and trusting that God is still at work.
Take inventory of what you are carrying today. What is yours to carry? What could someone else carry? What have you picked up that belongs to someone else? And what do you simply need to place into God’s hands?
You can care deeply about people without taking responsibility for everything in their lives. You can lead faithfully without doing everything yourself. You can care deeply without carrying everything.
Posted in Heart & Mind