Sharing the Load

"Moses’ father-in-law said to him, 'The thing that you are doing is not good.  You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.'"  Exodus 18:17-18

Everyone has responsibilities, some more than others.  Sometimes, without thinking much about it, the tendency is to do it all yourself by yourself.  If we aren’t careful, we can over exhaust ourselves and this can also affect those around us as well.

In Exodus 18:17-18, Moses was acting as judge among the Israelites.  Moses would sit before the people daily from morning until evening as he listened to disputes and made a judgment by teaching the statues of God.  Moses’ father-in-law Jethro noticed that Moses alone sat as judge for all the people of Israel and Jethro intervened to give Moses counsel.  Jethro warned that Moses would wear himself out, as well as the Israelites because they waited for prolonged periods of time to present their disputes to Moses. 

As​ we read this passage, we can learn much from Moses’ example. Moses was teaching the Israelites the statues of God by way of judging their disputes, which was a good thing, but the manner in which he was doing it was not. Think about some responsibilities that you have, whether it be family-related, ministry-related, work-related, or whatever vies for your time. If you are attempting to do it all alone or carry the vast majority of the load, it is not a good thing. God has designed community and in community delegation is necessary. But don’t just delegate to anyone. Delegating to the wrong type of people can cause more hardship than if you were working alone. Notice that Jethro mentioned the type of people that should help Moses. The men were to fear God, be men of truth, hate dishonest gain, and capable of leading (Exodus 18:21-23). In this way, Moses would be able to endure.

Take a look at all of your responsibilities. Are you nearing the point of exhaustion? Do you need to delegate? Doing a good thing but in the wrong manner can make it not so good for you and others. Share your load. Start delegating and let others help in bearing the burden with you.