Lean on Me

There is a familiar song entitled “Lean on Me.”  Some of the most significant parts of the lyrics include:
Lean on me, when you’re not strong; And I’ll be your friend,  I’ll help you carry on.  For it won’t be long; ‘Til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on.  Please swallow your pride, If I have faith that you need to borrow.  For no one can fill those of your needs that you won’t let show.

I absolutely love this song, and have sung it many times.  What comes to mind now is that the above type of relationship requires a giver and receiver.  The very premise of the song is that there is someone that is ready and willing to be of assistance, and someone ready and willing to request assistance.  Both should be the on-going position of a Christian.

Giving:   Lean on Me; I’ll Help you Carry On.
There are numerous scriptures to speak to Christians being willing and ready to help:

Matthew 5: 41-42 – And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of the turn not thou away.

Proverbs 3:27 – Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

Galatians 6:2 – Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Acts 20:35 – I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive

Asking:    Please Swallow Your Pride; For No One Can Fill Your Needs That You Won’t Let Show
I think Christians find it easier to be a giver than a receiver, but in the same way that God calls Christians to be givers, He calls us to be humble enough to ask for help.  I read somewhere that God designed us to need help, and it stuck with me.  The writer reminded me that God created Adam and then created Eve in recognition that Adam needed help (Genesis 2:18).  His design was for people who would give and receive help.

We understand that God calls Christians to help others, and blesses them for doing so.

Luke 6:38 – Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.  For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

By not asking for help, Christians don’t allow others to be blessed as a result of their giving.  Additionally, the act of asking for help, involves the removal of pride, which is pleasing to God.

Proverbs 18:12 – Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
It is important to remember that assistance/help comes in many forms, only one of which is money.  One definition of assistance is “…the provision of money, resources, or information to help someone.”  Time, energy, and talents are also forms of assistance.

The questions that each Christian should ask are:

• Am I willing to give?
• Do I show myself as willing to give? Do others see me as willing to give?
• I am willing to receive?
• Do I show myself as willing to receive? Do others see me as willing to receive?

Glory To God for All That He Has Done!
Blessings – Janice