Burning Out

(This week I'm taking a break from my blog series over 1 Timothy 4.12. The following post is an article I wrote for North Macarthur church of Christ's bulletin)

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by something that you just wanted to give up or quit? If so then you have had the feeling of being burnt out. You can get the feeling of being burnt out from everywhere. Sports, relationships, or all kinds of other activities can be ended as a result of burnout. Burn out is the result of not being able to take the pressure of something. Maybe you feel like you can’t overcome certain odds, so you give up. Maybe you feel overwhelmed by certain duties you have to perform, so you quit. Unfortunately, this happens to us in our Christian life as well. 

It’s no secret that as Christians we face all kinds of difficulties. We face daily the pain of verbal persecution. We are faced all the time with different types of sin and, unfortunately, many times we give in to it. All of this negative pressure around can cause us to want to give up. So what do we do? How do we keep from burning out completely and falling away?

Many answers could be given to this question. The one I want to look at briefly though is mentioned in Galatians 6.2 which says: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

One of the simplest ways to prevent someone from completely burning out is to help them bear their burden. It’s tough to go through all the struggles of life by ourselves. The fact of the matter is we need help from other Christians to make it through. It’s important that we help each other with whatever burdens we may be carrying. We’ll never know if someone is carrying a burden or not unless we talk to them so the challenge this week is to say more than just a friendly “hello” to someone. Actually see how the person you’re talking to is doing and, if they have a burden, then help them bear it! 

Most people feel burdened because they have so much going on in their life. In order for us to bear their burden we must help them remove some of those things that they shouldn’t have to worry about. Helping alleviate some of the burdens they have can be as easy as watching their kids for them one night so they can focus on the big burden they’re struggling with. You could do something like mow their lawn, say some kind words to them or bring them food to eat. Bearing someone’s burdens, when you get down to it, is not a difficult thing at all. You’d be surprised at what one little gesture can do. You could be the difference maker as to whether someone sticks with Christianity or burns out.  –Jack D.

p.s. There will be no post next week (7/26) because I will be busy at Preacher Training Camp.