by Satomi Mercer

Somebody I know had a bad habit.  He borrowed pens and accidnetally kept those.  I would find pens I don’t recognize in his jackets.  One time, he had a pen that had a sticker that said, “This pen was stolen from Dr. Peterson’s office.”  Who in the world is Dr. Peterson?  Till this day I don’t know.

I figure that he lost as many pens as he stole.

Anyway I was thinking that sometimes  we carry things that are not ours.  I am talking spiritually.

1. Other’s responsibilities.
If you are burned out, chances are that you are carrying someone else’s responsibilities.  Maybe you should let your son be late for work and reap the consequence rather than you wake him up by yelling at him.

2. Un forgiveness
When you are carrying un-forgiveness, you are carrying judgement against guilt that should be carried by God and was punished on the cross.  Un forgiveness is a very very heavy burden to carry.  Somehow I know.

3.  Other’s problems
Bible says to carry each other’s burden but that doesn’t mean you have to take their place and carry burden for them.  You help them to carry it and help them to take the burden to God.  When you council someone or pray for the person, make sure you give that burden back to God and not carry it with you. Simple prayer that says, “I will give what I heard to Your cross.”  would help a lot.   One time I prayed for a person about a horrible experience and I forgot to pray to give the burden to the cross.  I had a terrible dream that night.

So, let’s not find ourselves carrying burden in our hearts that says, “This burden is stolen from Jesus’ office.”

Satomi Mercer is the wife of  Ray Mercer and they lead the Yokosuka Grace Bible Church in Japan. She is the author of Blah Blah Blog.