Galatians 6:1-5

Summary retelling of Galatians 6:1-5

Paul admonishes the leaders in the Galatian church.  People who are found in spiritual negligence need to be restored to spiritual health.  Paul also warns the spiritual to keep watch, because as we restore spirituality it is far easier for us to fall into temptation!  Spiritual leaders should not think higher of themselves than they deserve.  Instead, we should test our own work and see what really stands the test of spirituality.  We all must bear the cross that God has asked us to bear.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

As I say in my summary, Paul admonishes the leaders.  But by leaders, Paul isn’t talking about the people with the “power” or the people who are “elected.”  Paul is talking about the spiritual.  The spiritual are the leaders of any congregation!  Think about it.  It must be this way.  If an elected person or a person with power is not spiritual, how can they ever hope to restore spirituality?  No, it is the spiritual people who are the true leaders, because only the spiritual can help to restore spirituality.  This is why it is so important to emphasize spirituality and living out one’s faith within our congregations.

Who are the people that look up to you as a spiritual leader in their life?  How can you continue to interact with them in a way to encourage them in their faith?

Second Thought:

Paul warns the spiritual leaders to be careful.  It is far easier to backslide than it is to grow in the faith.  Humanity has a tendency to seek the lowest expectations, not the highest.  So we must always be careful!  We should go out and help people, but we cannot compromise ourselves in the process.

In what areas are you likely to be tempted?  How can you set up your life so as to not be tempted as easily?

Third Thought:

We must test our own work.  We must carry our own cross.  In many respects, part of what Paul is saying coincides with Jesus’ admonition to “examine the log in our own eye rather than worry about the speck in our brother’s or sister’s eye.”  We need to worry about ourselves and our own pursuit of God’s ways before criticizing someone else’s potential failure.

Why is this piece of advice important?  What happens when we spend more time focusing on evaluating ourselves than evaluating one another?

Passage for Tomorrow: Galatians 6:6-10