Why We Need Each Other

‘...encourage the fainthearted, help the weak...’ 1 Thessalonians 5:14 NAS

A mouse looked out through a crack in a farmhouse wall and was distraught to discover a mousetrap. When he went to tell his buddies, the chicken said, ‘Sorry, pal, not my problem.’ The pig said, ‘I’ll pray for you.’ The cow was busy and said, ‘Come back later.’ Dejected, the mouse was left alone to handle his problem. That night, a poisonous snake got caught in the mousetrap and when the farmer’s wife went to investigate she got bitten. She developed a raging fever, and everyone knows you treat a fever with chicken soup. So the farmer took his axe to the barn for the main ingredient! As his wife’s condition deteriorated and neighbours gathered, he had to butcher the pig to feed them. Finally she died. So many people came to the funeral that he ended up slaughtering the cow to make dinner for them all. In the end, everybody lost! The Bible says, ‘…encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.’ It only takes one thing to be an encourager: a willingness to ‘…bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.’ (Romans 15:1 NAS) Before deciding somebody else’s problem has nothing to do with you, read this: ‘…If one member suffers, all the members suffer…’ (1 Corinthians 12:26 NKJV) You can’t sit on the sidelines while someone’s hurting; tomorrow it may be you! We are told to ‘Share each other’s burdens…’ (Galatians 6:2 NLT) When one of us is threatened we’re all at risk. Our lives are woven together for a reason; each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry.