Everyone Needs Help

Laurie was about three when one night she requested my aid in getting undressed. I was downstairs and she was upstairs, and ... well. "You know how to undress yourself," I reminded. "Yes," she explained, 'but sometimes people need people anyway, even if they do know how to do things by themselves."

William C. Schultz, Bits & Pieces, December 1990.

What a profound statement from a three-year-old. She's absolutely right. People need people. The Bible tells us that it is the duty of the stronger Christians to help hold up the weaker ones. Many times we pride ourselves in this. We gratefully bear the burdens of our weaker brothers and sisters, but we forget that sometimes even the "strong" ones need help too.

Sometimes we get the impression that the preachers, the Sunday School teachers, the pianists, the song leaders, the deacons, etc. have no need for our help or encouragement. After all, they must be strong in the faith to be in the position they're in, right? To a degree, yes, but even strong Christians come under attack. Sometimes they need encouragement or prayer too.

At our church, it is common when someone goes to the altar for someone else to go down and pray with them. Being a youth leader, I always go down to pray with one of my girls, but I began to notice a pattern. No one would ever go down to pray with the preacher's wife or the Sunday School teacher. No one would kneel down with the deacon or the preacher. I always felt like it wasn't my place to pray with them because I'm not as spiritually mature as they are. But then I began to realize that if everyone feels the way I do, these poor people would be left to bear their burdens alone.

My point? Keep in mind today that everyone, no matter their level of spiritual maturity, needs to be prayed for and encouraged. People need people. How about helping someone out today? It doesn't have to be anything major. Say a prayer. Send a card. Give a hug. Be a friend. Bear a burden.