Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, October 11, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Jethro is my hero. Seriously, I love this man. Moses’ father-in-law joins him in the wilderness (why he left his settled life in Midian for the precarious existence of Moses’ people I’m not sure) and begins dispensing advice to his chronically over-worked son-in-law. “Dude. You’re doing too much. You can’t single-handedly manage a traveling city of literally hundreds of thousands of people. You’re gonna crash and burn and take everyone else with you.” Jethro knew it was foolish to try to do everything alone. This is why God created us to be in community, why God gave us to one another. To share the burdens in order that everyone should benefit.
I’m kinda like Moses by nature, I think. It’s not easy to ask for help. I tend to try to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. I don’t want to bother anyone else. I have learned, as part of the recovery community, the necessity of “we.” We were never meant to try to barrel through life alone. We were never meant to suck it up and keep pushing through regardless of the difficulties. We created for interdependence. To reach out in love to help one another.
I hope Moses went and got a massage after he started delegating all his responsibilities like Jethro advised him. He deserved it after all he’d done to that point. Hmm. I should go get a massage, too.
How do I do appropriate self-care and share my burdens?