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Brittni was looking at her cell phone and laughing. “What’s so funny?” I asked. She said that someone pinned this to their Pinterest board: “Don’t blame the holidays . . . you were fat in August!”

Most of us past the age of 17 have watched the needle on the scale steadily creep to the right. I have often said we can’t help getting older—but I can do something about how much I weigh.

There is a wrong way that I sometimes deal with feeling heavier. I avoid looking at the scale altogether. I think, so what? A pound a year is no big deal. But years down the road from your twenties, that’s several pounds heavier . . . emphasis on several.

Last year at my annual exam, I learned something about the weight I was carrying. I went in feeling pretty good and rather happy with myself. The needle on the scale had gone the other way; I was three pounds lighter. Hooray! But then, Dr. Lindberg looked at some test results. More than just the scale, he looked at my body composition and told me that although I’d lost weight, it was the wrong kind of weight. It was essential for me to start some weight training. Lifting, not less but more weight.

What kind of spiritual “weight” (good and bad) are you carrying into the new year?

Paul tells us in Galatians 6:5 there is a good, even necessary weight that every Christian should carry. He writes, “Each one should carry their own load.” That word in the Greek is phortion, used to designate the pack carried by a marching soldier. In this pack, you would find survival items. Food, tools, navigational instruments, weapons.

The other day I watched Jonathan unload groceries from his car. All the little ones helped. Each one was carrying something. Even three-year-old Christopher had a bag that his dad carefully weighed and handed to him to carry to the kitchen.

Did you realize that there is a “burden” Jesus asks all His followers to take on? In Matthew 11:29-30 He told His disciples, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

There are Christian responsibilities each believer must joyfully bear, and Jesus assures us this burden is light enough for us.

Another type of burden we ought to willingly bear is the burden of helping others close to us as they run their race of life. “Bear one another’s burdens and fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).  There will be times when others need some help with the burdens they are carrying. The word for weight in that case is baros, a heavy, crushing load. We can help carry or lighten the load as we “stand under” (the literal meaning of the word understand) and shoulder it together. It is a privilege to come alongside someone and—in big and small ways—help to lift the weight that is crushing them. As I am typing this, I can vividly recall that terrible season in my life. My good friends came, for years stood by my side, and helped me bear up under the weight of sadness after our son Christopher suddenly left us for heaven.

But what are the “bad” weights that hold us back in the spiritual race? What things must we lay aside, which the writer of Hebrews calls “the sin and weight that so easily ensnares” (Hebrews 12:1). The word ensnare can also be translated entangle. What a vivid picture of the encumbrance of extra weight.

These are emotional weights: anger, resentment, guilt, unforgiveness, bitterness. God wants us to live free from destructive emotions that grieve the Holy Spirit and entangle themselves around our mind. Meditate on these verses:

“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26 ESV)

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” (Ephesians 4:31 ESV)

“The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.'” (Genesis 4:6–7 ESV)

There’s the weight of unhealthy relationships: these can easily hinder and sidetrack us from pursuing God’s highest calling. Mediate on these verses:

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV)

“Pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22b ESV)

Then there are weights, the thorns Jesus identified in the Parable of the Sower as “the cares and riches of this life” (Luke 8:14). We all have concerns for our future and the future of our loved ones. What will we eat, what will we drink, what will we wear? Worries and fears that keep us up at night. Meditate on these verses:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (1 Timothy 6:6–10 ESV)

“If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!” (Luke 12:26–28 NAS)

Think of the weight of trivial pursuits that clutter our lives. The unnecessary commitments, hobbies, the time and energy we spend on things that don’t amount to much. Meditate on these verses:

“But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.'” (Luke 10:41–42 ESV)

“But watch yourselves or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.” (Luke 21:34 ESV)

So we are told to LAY ASIDE any relationship, activity or thinking that so easily wraps itself around us and RUN!

If you have ever participated or observed a marathon race, you know it can be very cold. In the early morning hours of a race, runners brace themselves for the cold by putting layers of clothing on to keep warm. Hats, gloves, sweatshirts, and layers of clothing are necessary for keeping muscles warm. But as the race continues, these layers are thrown off—discarded on the side of the road as unnecessary weight, a hindrance. You can see miscellaneous articles of clothing scattered along the side of the road all the way to the finish line. What a picture!

If we want to run this spiritual race to our optimum capacity, we need to carefully consider and pray about our various pursuits and the space they occupy in our life! Let’s take a moment to pray and ask the Lord to identify the things that are weights so we can cast off what is hindering us.