ガラテヤの信徒への手紙6:3-5 Galatians 6:3-5,
実際には何者でもないのに、自分をひとかどの者だと思う人がいるなら、その人は自分自身を欺いています。各自で、自分の行いを吟味してみなさい。 （ガラテヤ6:3-4）
確かに、私たちは日常生活の中で「自分をひとかどの者だと思って」、ほかの人を見下すことのないように気をつけなければなりません。「自分の行いを吟味してみて」自分にも欠けたところや善くないところがあり、ほかの人を見下すことなどできないということに気づくべきなのです。日本のことわざにも「人のふり見て我がふり直せ」という教えがあります。これは「他人のふるまいを見て感じることがあったら、わが身を振り返り、改めるべきところを改めよ。他人の行いを批判する前に、まず自分のことを顧みよ」（『ことわざを知る辞典』）という意味です。このように、3節と4節の言葉は、前後の文脈から切り離して読んでも、「人のふり見て我がふり直せ」という一般社会の教訓に通じる有益な教えであると言えるでしょう。
しかし、ガラテヤの信徒への手紙の前後の文脈の中に3節と4節を当てはめて、その意味を考えてみますと、クリスチャンにとってのこの戒めの意味がさらにはっきりとしてきます。つまり、この戒めは、ほかの人の重荷を担おうとすると、相手よりも自分が優れた者であると思い込んでしまうが、それは自分自身を欺いていることだ、という警告なのです。言い換えますと、それは「うぬぼれ」だということです。この手紙の5章26節でも、パウロは「うぬぼれて、互いに挑み合ったり、ねたみ合ったりするのはやめましょう」と警告していました。罪に陥っている人に対して、敵意を抱いて相手を排除しないで重荷を担って交わりをするということは、クリスチャンにとっても決して簡単なことではありません。しかし、それ以上に難しいのは、相手よりも自分の方が重荷を担ってやっている優れた者なのだという「うぬぼれ」を捨てることです。率直に申し上げるならば、これはほとんど不可能なことです。ほとんどすべてのクリスチャンは「うぬぼれ」をもっています。しかし、「自分の行いを吟味してみる」ことによって、その「うぬぼれ」が大きくならないように制御することはできるでしょう。そして、「自分の行いを吟味してみる」ときには、神様の基準によって吟味することが大切です。自分の考えた基準で自分を吟味するならば、自分の「うぬぼれ」はますます大きくなることでしょう。しかし、神様の基準である十戒の教えに基づいて自分を吟味するならば、自分は心の中で十戒の教えに反することを思ったり考えたりしていて、しかも実際の行いでも十戒の教えに反することをしていると気付かされます。そして、「うぬぼれ」が打ち砕かれることでしょう。 （9月29日の説教より）
As I mentioned in last week’s sermon, we human beings live by forming communities. In other words, we don’t live by ourselves, but live together with other people. When we live together with other people, one troublesome problem arises. That is the problem of comparing oneself with other people. If we have something that other people don’t have, we feel superior. If we don’t have something that other people have, we feel inferior. In some cases, we may be aware of these feelings, but in other cases we may have feelings of superiority or inferiority without being aware of them. And when you compare yourself with other people, you may find yourself thinking about things that you don’t need to think about, such as who is better, you or other people.
Furthermore, comparing yourself with others can also cause you to feel a sense of pleasure at the misfortune of others. In German, there is a word “Schadenfreude,” which is a combination of the words “Schaden” (meaning “damage” or “misfortune”) and Freude (meaning “joy”). It refers to the feeling of pleasure you get from the misfortune of others. This German word has been adopted into English as it is. There is also a Japanese saying, “Tanin-no fukō-ha mitsu-no aji,” which means “The misfortune of others is sweet as honey.” It’s a sad thing, but the feeling of taking pleasure in the misfortune of others is a feeling that is shared to some extent by people all over the world.
Some people may be surprised to hear that Christians also have the feeling of taking pleasure in the misfortune of others. However, this is a fact. Even Christians can feel jealous when they see other people being given gifts that they themselves do not have. As a flip side to such feelings of jealousy, there can be a dark emotion of pleasure at the failure or misfortune of others that arises in the hearts of Christians. There is a Christian who said, “Fellowship in the church is more difficult than in society in general.” This is probably because in church fellowship, dark emotions such as jealousy of other people’s gifts and pleasure in other people’s failures and misfortunes can sometimes come to the surface, triggered by some event. However, Christians are to live following Christ, so they must not be carried away by such dark emotions, but rather control them.
In verse 2 before today’s passage, Paul was exhorting the believers in the churches in Galatia to “bear one another’s burdens.” The reason for this exhortation was the disputes over teachings that were occurring in the Galatian churches. As I have repeatedly mentioned, Paul, who first preached the gospel of Christ in the Galatian region, taught that “one is saved by believing in Jesus Christ.” However, after Paul left the churches in Galatia, Jewish evangelists came along and taught that “one cannot be fully saved without not only believing in Christ but also undergoing the ritual of circumcision as prescribed by the Old Testament law.” The Galatian believers were then misled by the teachings of the Jewish evangelists, and there was confusion in the churches. Because of this conflict over teachings, the Galatian believers were not in a state to love and serve one another. Perhaps there was a mutual pointing out and accusing each other of the other’s faults and sins.
So, in verse 1, Paul exhorted them by saying, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” In this case, the word “transgression” probably refers to the kind of sin that involves believing in false teachings and trying to get other people to believe in them too. Rather than trying to exclude such people with enmity, Paul exhorts the Galatian believers to restore them in a spirit of gentleness. He also admonishes them not to be tempted by the devil. In other words, he is saying, “Be careful not to be tempted by the devil and to have thoughts of enmity and strife.”
Then, in verse 2, Paul exhorts them to “bear one another’s burdens.” So, in connection with verse 1, “bearing one another’s burden”’ means “being careful not to have thoughts of enmity and strife due to temptation of the devil, but having fellowship with those who have fallen into sins so that they may be restored with the gentleness of the Holy Spirit.” Even Christians can be caught in sins and fall into sins in their lives. And when such a person is in the church, church fellowship becomes a burden. But still, Paul encourages us to bear the burden with fellowship so that those who have fallen into sins can be restored.
However, when you try to bear the burdens of others, another temptation arises, which is different from the temptation to exclude the other person with enmity. This is the temptation to think that you are better than the others. In other words, it is the temptation to think that the others are foolish people who have fallen into sins, and that you are a superior person who is bearing their burdens. And when the people who have fallen into sins are actually experiencing misfortune, you may even secretly feel a sense of pleasure at their misfortune, thinking that they deserve to be in that state because they sin. In order to warn against such feelings of superiority and pleasure at the misfortune of others, Paul writes in verses 3 and 4 as follows.
For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.
Even if you read this advice in isolation from the surrounding context, it is still a thought-provoking phrase. The phrase “anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing,” is something that applies to many people, don’t you think? The phrase “he is something” is translated in Japanese Bible as “hitokado-no mono.” The Japanese word ““hitokado-no mono” means being an important or a full-fledged person. Therefore, someone who thinks he is “hitokado-no mono” is someone who is proud of being an important or full-fledged person. Certainly, in our daily lives, we must be careful not to look down on other people by thinking of ourselves as someone of importance. We should examine our own behaviour and realise that we too have our faults and failings, and that we should not look down on others. There is also a Japanese proverb that says, “Hito-no furi mite waga furi naose,” which means “Look at how others behave, and then reflect on your own behaviour and change what needs to be changed.” In this way, even if we read verses 3 and 4 in isolation from the surrounding context, they can be said to be a useful lesson that leads to the general social lesson of “Look at how others behave, and then reflect on your own behaviour and change what needs to be changed.”
However, if we consider the meaning of verses 3 and 4 by fitting them into the context of the letter to the Galatians, the meaning of this admonition for Christians becomes even clearer. That is, this admonition is a warning that if you try to take on the burden of another person, you will think that you are better than them, but this is a deception of yourself. In other words, it is “conceit.” In 5:26 of this letter, Paul also warned: “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” For Christians, it is not easy to have fellowship with someone who is in sins and to bear burdens without having enmity and trying to exclude them. However, what is even more difficult is to cast aside the “conceit” that you are a better person who is bearing greater burdens than the others. To be frank, it is almost impossible. Almost all Christians have a sense of “conceit.” However, by testing our own work, we can control this sense of “conceit” so that it does not grow too big. And when we test our own work, it is important to test it according to God’s standards. If you test yourself using your own standards, your “conceit” will only grow. However, if you test yourself according to God’s standards, i.e., the Ten Commandments, you will realise that you are thinking and doing things that go against the commandments in your heart and in your actions. Then, your “conceit” will be broken.
The second half of verse 4, “and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor,” is an interesting way of putting it. There are various ways of interpreting the meaning of this passage. I think it is best to interpret it in the following way, based on the teachings of verses 3 and 4. That is, if you examine yourself according to God’s standards, you will realise that your boast that you are something is what you can claim only for yourself, and not for others. In other words, if you have a sense of superiority or “conceit” when comparing yourself with others, it may be true in your own mind, but it is not something that can be said to be objectively true for other people. In reality, there are people in society who openly express their sense of superiority or “conceit.” And there are also Christians who express their sense of superiority or “conceit,” but such people should test themselves carefully according to God’s standards.
In verse 5, Paul says, “For each will have to bear his own load.” How do these words connect with the verses 3 and 4 that precede them? If you read verse 5 in the original Greek text, you will notice that it contains the word ‘gar’ (γὰρ), which expresses the reason for what has been said before. In other words, verse 5 can be interpreted as saying “because each person should bear his own load” and explaining the reason why each one must “test his own work.”
In the Japanese Bible which we use today, verse 5 is translated as “Mei-mei-ga jibun-no omoni-wo ninau beki-desu,” which means “Each one should bear his own load.” However, in the new translation of Japanese Bible, published by the Japan Bible Society in 2018, it is translated as “Ono-ono-ga jibun-no ni-wo oukoto-ni naruno-desu,” which means “Each one will result in bearing his own load.” Indeed, when we read the original Greek text, there is no word for “should.” And the Greek verb bastazō (βαστάζω) is in the future tense. Many English translations introduce the notion of obligation or compulsion: NRSV, “must carry;” NIV, “should carry;” ESV, “will have to bear;” CEB, “will have to carry.” But some researchers think that verse 5 it is a bald statement of fact and that “will bear,” or “will carry” is a more accurate translation.
I think that the new Japanese translation, “Each one will result in bearing his own load,” is a more appropriate translation than “Each one should bear his own load.” And since in the future “each one will bear his own load,” I think that “each one should bear his own load,” may also be a secondary meaning. Then, what exactly does the phrase “Each one will result in bearing his own load,” mean? Paul must have been thinking about the Last Judgement when he wrote this. In 6:7-8 of this letter, he writes as follows.
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
The words “reap,” “corruption” and “eternal life” show that Paul is thinking about the Last Judgement. Therefore, in verse 5, Paul suggests that one should prepare for the Last Judgement with the short phrase “each one will bear his own load.” In Paul’s letters, the grace of Christ’s salvation is first mentioned, and then the saved are encouraged to live in preparation for the Last Judgment. Therefore, I think it is correct to understand verse 5 as a word that suggests the Last Judgment. And, if we know that this is the original meaning of the original text, then we can read it as a teaching that “Each one should bear his own load.”
This short teaching, “Each one should bear his own load,” has a very important meaning. First of all, in the Last Judgement, each person will be held accountable to God, so Christians must always live humbly, placing themselves before God. In other words, we must not live with a sense of superiority or “conceit” by comparing ourselves with others. In 2 Corinthians 5:10, Paul also warns us to prepare for the Last Judgment saying, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
Secondly, as I explained in the exposition of verse 2, “Bear one another’s burdens,” “bearing one another’s burdens” does not mean taking responsibility for the sins of others. At the Last Judgement, each one of us will be held accountable to God. Since each one of us is responsible to God, each one of us has one’s own sphere of responsibility. One cannot take on the responsibility of others, nor can one make others take on one’s own responsibility. In the fellowship of the church, it is important that each one of us takes on one’s own responsibility without shifting the blame to others.