We can’t do it all
2022-06-13Exodus 18:18 NIV
Helping others is something we’re called to do. The Bible says that we should care about the ‘interests of the others’ not just our own (Philippians 2:4 NIV). But sometimes we can take this too far. We try to be everything for everyone, seeing it as our responsibility to help everyone with their problems. And that can be dangerous because we can end up feeling overwhelmed. Instead we need to remember that we’re part of the body of Christ (take a look at 1 Corinthians 12:12-31), so all of us have a responsibility to be there for other people, but we can all offer different things. Sometimes God will use us to help others, and at other times He’ll use someone else. It doesn’t always have to be us.
Moses had to learn this when he was leading the Israelites. He was wearing himself out physically, emotionally, and spiritually trying to keep up with the demands of two million Israelites and be the one everyone turned to when they needed answers to their problems. That’s when his father-in-law told him, ‘You cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice’ (v.18-19 NIV).
It takes wisdom, maturity, and humility to ask for help or to say no to helping when someone is in a bad place. When we take on too much, we can end up not helping anyone because we can’t cope ourselves. What Moses was doing wasn’t good for him, and it wasn’t good for the people depending on him. Sometimes we may need to guard ourselves from becoming overwhelmed by too many people offloading their problems onto us. And doing that is a sign of strength, not weakness.