Martha Hill Jamison, shorter beneficiary of the Tall Tax

Galatians 6: 1-5 (J. B. Phillips version)

Even if a man should be detected in some sin, my brothers, the spiritual ones among you should quietly set him back on the right path, not with any feeling of superiority but being yourselves on guard against temptation. Carry each other’s burdens and so live out the law of Christ.

If a man thinks he is “somebody”, he is deceiving himself, for that very thought proves that he is nobody. Let every man learn to assess properly the value of his own work and he can then be glad when he has done something worth doing without dependence on the approval of others. For every man must “shoulder his own pack”. 

Reflection:

My husband Bruce is tall. Every day. Early in our marriage, he didn’t realize what a blessing it is to move through life that way. Tall. But then, I assessed a “Tall Tax.” He must put dishes away on the top shelf. He must assist me (and all other short airline passengers) in putting my suitcase in the overhead bin. Bruce has taken the Tall Tax very seriously. He follows Paul’s admonition in Galatians 6 to “carry each other’s burdens” (often, literally). I love him for that.

Unsuspecting friends in our lives have been the inspiration for Tall Tax variations. Bruce once witnessed Ross holding the door open for someone who was really too far away from the entrance to count (Ross would have been forgiven for just letting the door swing shut). Since that day, Bruce has adopted Ross’s Rule and notices people even when they are really too far away. No one seems to mind being noticed.

My mother, in her last years, created an Index Card ministry. She didn’t get out much anymore, but she could still work the telephone. Her friends’ names and numbers were on separate Index Cards that she filed in a recipe box. She spent much of her days on the phone, but it was not idle talk. She touched base with friends and helped “carry their burdens,” in prayer and by staying in touch.

Paul’s admonition in the verses above reminds us to be quick to help others. In love. In so doing, we fulfill Jesus’s commandment to love one another.

Paul also urges each of us to “shoulder his own pack.” Although many translations use the same English word, “burden”, in these two verses, two different Greek words were used by Paul. The Galatians 6:2 burden (in bold above) refers to an extremely heavy load (see Matthew 20:12, “these last men have worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden”). The Galatians 6:5 burden (also in bold and translated here as a “pack”) refers to a normal load that a soldier or a day hiker might carry (see Matthew 11:30, “for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”).

Each of us carries certain non-delegable moral responsibilities and obligations, our “pack”. We also are responsible for the attitudes we adopt and the actions we take towards others. The short airline passenger has carried her pack through the terminal and onto the plane. It only became a burden when faced with the overhead bin. Mom’s friends carried their packs of advancing age and diminishing strength. She provided encouragement that allowed them to keep going.

Examine the talents you have been given. Look for opportunities to use them in love to support and encourage fellow believers. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Prayer: 

Dear Jesus: Help us to notice others who are carrying extremely heavy loads. Show us the ways you have  equipped us to help. Give us the courage to get involved where we are needed. Please, Lord, we want to be more like you. Amen.