The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 6: 2 that we should bear another’s burden. Then in the fifth verse we are instructed for each of us to bear our own burden. Is this a contradiction within the Scripture? Of course not! There are two observations that will help our understanding.
A porter was known to carry tremendous loads even to the excess of a piano. If he had a great distance to carry that weight, he might become exceptionally weary and need rest. He then would ask for assistance from someone else so that he might set his burden down for a short while and revive himself. The other person then took on the weight of that burden. This was the meaning of verse two that we should help another person whose burdens are exceptionally heavy in life.
In verse two there is a Greek word baros which is referring to the heavy load. There is another Greek word phortion used in verse five that refers to a light burden or something that could be carried in a person’s hand. Today we could compare the two as a piano versus a briefcase.
The conclusion of these two scriptures is that we must be ready to help another person with their heavy load, but not expect someone else to take on the very small thing we should carry ourselves. We find times in which life becomes very difficult and as Christians we must come to the other person’s aid. At the same time, each of us must be reliable toward ourselves and others that we carry our own light loads for ourselves.
This is the lesson of compassion to someone else in need and a lesson of personal responsibility. By knowing the difference of these two Greek words and applying them, we are reflecting God’s expectation of loving another person and of being emotionally and spiritually mature.
Christian Writer 