The Way You Live and Treat Others Matters for Today and for Eternity
I was having a recent conversation with my children a few weeks ago. I was telling them that it is not cool when they meanly joke, laughing at the expense of others, putting them down. They said they were just jokes, and that it is normal at school. Everyone knows they are just friends giving each other a hard time.
Now, laughing at each other once in a while is ok. But if the interactions are dominated by biting, devouring and crushing one another with their words, that is really not an expression of true friendship. Christlike friendship is the opposite! It seeks to build up, and to encourage others. It expresses humble care and compassion, it bears the burdens of others. It does good to others.
Now, this discussion with my kids may sound like a minor detail of daily life. Just mundane, silly behavior with little implications. It is not. The way you and I live and treat others matters now and to infinity and beyond.
Our tendency is to criticize others. We are good at identifying their defects and weaknesses. While our view of ourselves is often inflated and inaccurate. Now, this behavior is not confined to the halls of a school. It affects our marriages, our families, our churches, and sometimes the consequences are sad and tragic. Divorce, divisions, church splits, enmity, fits of anger… we are painfully aware of those, aren’t we?
We are not alone. We will learn today that the Galatians experienced some of the same challenges. And Paul teaches them and us in chapter 6 of his letter that:
The way we live and treat others matters. It matters for today and it matters for tomorrow. It has implications now, and it also has eternal implications. And therefore we will do well in paying careful attention to what Paul has to say.
Please read with me the letter to the Galatians. We will start reading in chapter 5:25, but will focus on the first half of chapter 6.
Galatians 5:25-6:10
5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.
6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
[Let’s pray]
Last week we were called to walk by the Spirit, while saying no to the desires of our sinful nature, what Paul here calls the flesh. We also learned that both the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit are manifested in the way we relate to and treat each other.
Paul tells the Galatians in 5:25: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit”
In other words, since we were given a new life by the Spirit, we should also live day by day in step with the same Spirit. Whether we are walking by the Spirit or not, will be revealed, at least partially, by how we treat others.
In particular, this passage calls us to (1) bear one another’s burdens (6:1-5) and (2) persevere in doing good to others (6:6-10), and those will be the two main sections of the message today.
- Let us bear one another’s burdens (6:1-5)
- Let us not grow weary of doing good (6:6-10)
Let’s start with section 1
1. Let us bear one another’s burdens (6:1-5)
It looks like the Galatians were showing signs of living by the flesh rather than the Spirit. Self-centered arrogance, pride, provocations and envy were bubbling up in their interactions with each other. Read with me
5:26. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Paul warns them they should not be conceited and proud, irritating one another, envying one another.
Not only that, but some of them saw themselves as superior, more spiritual, and were perhaps criticizing and despising the ones who were struggling with sin. That’s why he tells them:
6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.
Instead of pointing fingers and correcting with an air of superiority, the ones who are truly spiritual, the ones who are really walking by the Spirit of God come with a humble, compassionate, gentle attitude, seeking to help and restore, not crush and destroy.
6:1c Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
If we are spiritually mature we should be sobered by the reality that we are still able to be tempted and even sin, if we do not keep watch, like sentinels, like watchmen, alert 24x7, 365. The enemy can strike at any time, when we are least prepared.
6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
We have a tendency of deceiving ourselves. To have a high view of ourselves. Maybe we do not say it out loud. We do not walk heralding “I am better than you, I am better than you”, but in our hearts we may think we are. And that shows in the way we speak, correct, and treat others.
How are you doing in this department?
How are you treating your children? What is your attitude after correcting them a thousand times (or at least that’s the way it feels)? Are you patient and gentle? What about your spouse or other people close to you? When you bring an observation, when you make a comment? Is your tone harsh, sarcastic, unkind? Ask them, and see what they say. Ask them to be completely honest, and learn how they feel when you correct or instruct them.
It seems so easy, so natural to see the faults of others and to believe we are immune to the same flaws. Sometimes we even boast because of others’ weaknesses thinking: “I thank God I am not like them”
The same in the social media world. We feel entitled with the right to freely express ourselves and speak out our minds without careful consideration of tone, motivation or end goal. We are quick to point out the weaknesses and mistakes of others. Since we are hiding behind a keyboard and a screen we think it is ok to be bold, blunt and direct, when we should be even more careful in social media, because the audience is much larger and therefore the effects, the blast radius, of our opinions can potentially do more harm.
How we live and treat others matters, it matters to God, and it should matter to us!
Instead of being conceited, proud and blind to our own flaws, we, who aspire to be spiritual, should restore those who have sinned with a spirit of gentleness, love, peace, patience, kindness …
In verse 2, Paul exhorts the Galatians:
6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Rather than devouring, biting and crushing others, we are called to bear their burdens, to walk alongside them, to carry their baggage, to lighten their heavy weights. We all bring our own heavy baggage, in one way or another. Being impatient and overly critical of the sins and weaknesses of others is not fruitful. Instead, Paul says help each other, bear one another’s burdens. Maybe today you bear someone’s burden and tomorrow someone bears yours, you never know.
Note that the solution is not ignoring the sins of others, but rather seeking to restore them, help them, with gentleness, love, patience, kindness. With the desire to see them striving and growing. And so fulfilling the law of Christ! To love another, to sacrifice for one another, to give our lives for one another, just like he did for us.
You see, we do not do these things in a vacuum. We look to Christ! We remember the Gospel. We meditate on how patient Christ has been with our own sin. We look at the cross and recount how he carried our burdens, how he bore our transgressions, how he took away the weight of our sin, so we may be free to love and help one another. We bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of our savior Jesus Christ.
6:5 For each will have to bear his own load.
This last verse of section 1 is a reminder that at the end of time, we will all have to give an account before the throne of God on how we lived and treated others. This judgment will not determine whether we go to heaven or hell. That has been settled and sealed by the work of Christ. But we will still have to give an account on how we lived as children of God, how we represented him, how we applied his word, how we walked in step with his Spirit. And then we will be rewarded accordingly. So how we live and treat others really matters for today and even more for the final day. Let us, therefore, seek to be gentle to one another, helping one another, loving one another, bearing the burdens of one another. That marks the end of section 1. Now let’s move to section 2.
2. Let us not grow weary of doing good (6:6-10)
We will skip verse 6 for now, but we’ll come back to it later. Let’s start in verse 7.
6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Alright, we start this section with a loud warning. Do not be deceived! God is not mocked!
It is not always clear and easy to see all that people do. There are things that are hidden to us, like, for instance, the motives of the heart or how much people give financially. On top of that, we sometimes pretend that we are good, we mask deeper issues for we are afraid of what people may think about us. We can be deceived, and we can deceive others. But God cannot! God knows everything! You cannot hide anything from him. You can come to church every Sunday, and superficially read your Bible and pray every day. But the depths of your heart are only fully known by God, and he cannot be mocked, he cannot be deceived, you cannot fool him, he sees all the way through.
And therefore how you live matters! It matters to God, it should matter to you. It matters today, and it will definitely matter later. Whatever you sow today, you will reap tomorrow.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
If you spend all of your time working, watching news and sports, playing video games, listening to secular music, and vacationing, then you are not going to produce much spiritual fruit, or any. Notice that none of those activities are inherently wrong or sinful.
However, even if our spiritual life is invisible, it is real. Our spiritual soil needs to be cultivated, watered, nurtured, and cared for, or it will not grow and produce spiritual fruit.
Whatever you sow in a soil, that is what the soil is going to produce. If you sow apples, you will get apples, if you sow oranges you will get oranges, if you sow nothing or bad seed, you will get nothing or weeds.
Last year I traveled to Napa valley in California. It is well known for its vineyards. I had the chance to talk to the person who is in charge of taking care of the whole process of making wine for a particular winery. Wow, I was not aware of how complex the process is. It is a science as much as it is an art.
It all starts when you sow the grape seeds and how you’ve prepared the soil. The way the wine is going to come out in 5, 10, 20 years from now, depends on how you sow the seeds now. The texture of the wine, its type, its color, its flavor, will be influenced by the fruit of the vineyards. It matters what type of seed you use, how you prepare the soil and care for it. How you monitor and sometimes control the temperature, how you protect against bugs and plagues, they all matter. If something goes wrong in the process, you may lose a big part of the production in the future. It is truly amazing and mind blowing. How much energy, resources, and care you invest today will have a dramatic and tangible effect in the future, even if that future is several years away.
That’s how our spiritual lives are. What we sow, will have an effect in the near term, in the medium term and in the very long term. The little decisions you make today, will have repercussions in the future. If you spend some daily time in prayer, if you have fellowship with other believers, if you seek to grow and give an account to others, if you spend time memorizing and meditating on Scripture, if you listen to sermons and teachings during your daily commute, all of those little investments accumulated are going to pay off. The more you invest the more return you are going to get. The more you sow to the Spirit, the more riches and blessings you will reap. If you sow to the Spirit, you will reap an abundant, rich, full, happy life. But if you sow to the flesh, you will reap corruption, death, and decay, and people around you will notice.
My purpose here is not to make you feel guilty. All the opposite. Just like you, I am blind to the spiritual realities. I am more aware of the physical world and the tangible things it offers. I am not naturally aware of spiritual life, and therefore you and I need to hear the word of God so that our spiritual senses are awakened. Our spiritual life needs to be nurtured. Let us sow day by day to the Spirit, and not to the flesh.
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Just like in the agricultural world, results do not pop up instantaneously. It takes time and effort before you can see results. You do not sow a seed and the next day it is producing a lot of fruit. Oranges, apples, grapes, they take a long time to grow, bloom and produce.
Nothing that is worth it comes easy. You do not become a great baseball player overnight. You practice and work diligently and hard for hours, several days a week. You do not become a great gymnast by only watching gymnastics on TV. You do not get good grades, unless you work on your assignments week after week.
As humans, we do get tired, sometimes exhausted, and we want to quit. We get weary and we want to give up. But wait a minute! Do not focus on how hard it feels. Look beyond tomorrow, look far. If you persevere, if you do not give up, if you do not quit, one day, at the right time, in due season, you will reap big time. Do not get discouraged when you see little progress, and the effort seems to be disproportionate compared to the benefits. Oh, may God open our spiritual eyes right now, may he provide to us spiritual binoculars and telescopes, so we can take a look into the future, and be motivated with what will come, with what we will reap.
Perhaps you are a weary parent, or a weary spouse, a weary disciple of Christ. You have invested time, energy, sweat and effort, but you do not see a lot of progress, you see little return. “Do not give up, do not grow weary in doing good”, God tells you. In due season you will reap, in due season the effort will be all worth it. We walk by faith and not by sight. We all need this encouragement, reminders from the word of God. Persevere, do not give up, go on, go on, stay steady. You will reap and it will be a feast.
10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Seek opportunities to do good to everyone, coworkers, cashiers, flight attendants, janitors, they all should be recipients of the goodness that comes from a fruitful, rich, thriving spiritual life.
But our brothers and sisters in Christ should have a special place in our hearts. They should be the ones who receive more love, care, compassion, grace, gentleness and kindness from us. They are part of our spiritual family, they were bought with the blood of Christ, we all were born from the same spiritual seed. They are now our family and therefore have a special, prominent place in our priorities, in our list of people we want to serve, love and bless.
Among them, there is an even more special group. Do you know who they are? It may surprise you who they are. They are the ones who teach you the word, your pastors!
6:6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.
I am not a pastor now, so I feel full freedom to speak about this. Why do you think that is the case? Why should we pay particular and careful attention to the ones who teach the word? To your pastors?
If you are an investor, and want to maximize profit, you want to get the best professional you can. You want to do what is in your hands to get a very capable one. You do not want someone who takes care of your finances in his free time. You want someone who is fully dedicated to your business. You do not want him to be distracted, you want him to be focused. You want someone who is skilled and passionate about what he does.
Now most of us are not investors, but we value money and material resources in one way or another. But money and possessions will go away. They will not matter in the future. But spiritual riches matter for today and matter for eternity. If you invest rightly in this life you can be a spiritual billionaire in the next life, so you want to get the best worker you can, and you want him to be fully dedicated to his task. That is your pastor! You want to free him up, so he becomes an expert in spiritual crops, seeds, soils and riches.
When you lose sight, he helps you to get back on track. When you go astray he runs after you, when you forget the truth he reminds you of it. He cares for you and your spiritual life, and he does it primarily by teaching you the word. His task is important, actually critical, a matter of life or death.
Value your pastor, share all good things with him. Pray for him, encourage him, bless him, help him, serve him, provide for him and his material needs. You do not want him distracted about that. The stakes are too high. Share all good things, all good things with him. God has given you amazing gifts and resources. Share them all with the one who teaches you. You will not regret it.
Because you need somebody to show you the way, someone who will teach you how to live and treat others, for that matters for today and matters for eternity.