Why the strong have an obligation to be patient with the weak

By Dean Collins

“Will this be on the test?”

Every teacher has heard this question. It frustrates the instructor because it indicates the student is not really wanting to engage in the riches of the subject matter the professor has spent their life studying. The student just wants to check the box, get the answer right, and move on toward graduation.

If we are honest, even the most mature among us often takes that approach. I often find myself just wanting the bottom line. I don’t want the sales pitch. Just tell me the price. I can figure out which option is better for me and whether the more expensive one is worth it.

How many times have you been asked to serve on a committee, a board, or possibly be in charge of something? And if you have been around long, you realize obligations always come with the “honor” of being asked. Usually, we want to know the obligations so we don’t overcommit. The truth is, it is often we busy people, already loaded with many obligations, who get asked to do more. We are the strong ones, the wise ones, the ones who get it, right?

An obligation

Paul has a word for us in Romans 15. “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not please ourselves.” Depending on the day you read such a verse, you might be tempted to ignore it. Who needs or wants one more obligation?! And when you read on, the task is clarified. There is a reason for the obligation. It’s not simply tolerating the one we see or know to be weaker. Our investment in this person is for their good but also for the good of the whole.

As we get older we might be tempted to think these assignments are for someone else. We’ve served our time and checked the boxes of church or community service. Now it’s time to focus on me. The apostle Paul seems to think differently. The strong, those with experience and understanding of God through Scripture and practice, are to continue to invest in the weak, even with their misunderstandings and failures.

Like Jesus

The temptation may be to look down on the ones with less understanding. We might also be tempted to ignore those with less knowledge and experience. Paul has a word for us. We are to act like Jesus.

In reading the Gospels we watch Jesus continue to invest and encourage the disciples even as they continually did not seem to get what he was saying. Yet he never gave up on them or traded them in for new friends. He endured their weakness for their good and ultimately for ours—and for those who thought they knew it all and were out to get Jesus. He gave his life for them despite their anger, their misunderstanding, and their arrogance.

Through the suffering and endurance of Christ we find our example. When we continue to invest in and focus on those around us, even with their failings, we will discover that God provides us with encouragement and endurance. And the endurance and encouragement we find in him and in Scripture is to be passed along through our example. It is in these investments that we will see the weaker find their footing. And even if they don’t we will have shown another person who Jesus is and how he acts.

In the end our sacrifice brings glory to God, extends the kingdom of God, gives us joy and peace, and through the power of the Holy Spirit brings the abundance of hope!

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:1-7, 13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by John Cameron at Unsplash

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