Support: Helping, Encouraging and Strengthening One Another

God never intended anyone to stand alone. From the beginning it was declared that it is not good to be alone, and throughout Scripture the people of God are called to hold one another up—in prayer, in practical help, and in encouragement. This article explores what it means to support others wisely, generously and for their lasting good.

The Call to Support One Another

We should be other-focused, giving assistance as appropriate, for “Two are better than one, if one falls the other can lift him up, but he is in trouble if alone” (Eccl 4:9-12). Aaron and Hur, by supporting the arms of Moses when he prayed to God, helped achieve the victory (Ex 17:10-13). Whose ‘arms’ do I hold up? Who helps hold up my ‘arms’? Jesus said if we see another person in need and help them we are in effect doing it to Him; conversely, if we don’t help we are refusing Him (Mt 25:40,45).

We have a responsibility to help meet the needs of the church, pastors, Christian workers and missionaries, besides those who are struggling in any other way (1 Cor 9:9-40; 1 Tim 5:17-18). The various means of help include financial and practical assistance, a listening ear, giving advice, a word of encouragement, or a literal shoulder to cry on.

Be sensitive to the spiritual and practical needs of others

Such love is practical and must be outworked, for if we don’t do the good we should, we are sinning by omission (Jas 2:15-17, 4:17; 1 Jn 3:17-18). Often the church has failed to respond with the love of Christ to the material or physical crises that people are in, through which they may have come to salvation. As Christians, we should be concerned about people’s spiritual state, and if we have gained an entrance into their world through attending to their physical need, they will be more receptive when the spiritual dimension is discussed (1 Cor 15:46).

Wise and Dignifying Help

Although we can’t respond to each and every genuine need, we can be aware of the plight of people and may be able to point them to someone who can help. What is needed is not so much a hand out as a hand up, for giving a man a fish will feed him for a day, while teaching him to fish has the potential to feed him for a lifetime. Endeavour not to let the destructive crutch of dependency (reliance on another, not being able or willing to undertake manageable tasks on their own) become a mindset, but encourage self-sufficiency which bolsters self-esteem, healthy responsibility and appropriate independence (doing for themselves and minding their own affairs).

Ask for divine wisdom for the best solution

Some situations are too complex for a single act of help; they call for a wrap-around support that draws alongside a person in many areas at once—practical, emotional, relational, and spiritual. Just as the body of Christ has many members, each with its own function, so a season of difficulty may be met best when several members contribute what they have, coordinating their care so that no one helper is overwhelmed and no area of need is overlooked (1 Cor 12:12-27; Rom 12:4-8). In such cases the goal remains the same: to strengthen the person for the long term, helping them stand again with dignity, while always pointing them to the One whose grace sustains us all.

Mutual Care in Community

We all should develop our own strong network of friends, with the freedom of willingly giving and humbly receiving according to the supply and need, besides sharing in the privileges and responsibilities of society in mutual cooperation and interdependence (1 Sam 30:24; 2 Cor 8:14). We all live in community to some degree, and should practise the golden rule of doing for others what we’d like them to do for us as we journey with them (Lk 6:31; Phil 2:4).

Such support must be exercised with integrity: honest in our dealings, reliable in what we commit to, faithful in keeping confidences, and uncompromising in our moral standards, for it is ‘the integrity of the upright’ that guides them and we are to let our ‘Yes’ be simply ‘Yes’ (Ps 26:1,11; Prov 11:3; Mt 5:37). Our care is not to be limited by spiritual standing: support is owed to all people, whether they are inside or outside God’s kingdom, for the Father ‘is kind to the ungrateful and wicked’ and sends His rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike (Lk 6:35-36; Mt 5:45). If they are unable or unwilling to help, do not condemn or withdraw from them but endeavour to maintain good relationships with them.

Be outward focused but also have appropriate boundaries

No one is exempt from Satan’s attacks, for he targets our vulnerable areas, besides the isolated or weak Christians who are discouraged and not in a caring relationship with other believers (Heb 10:25; 1 Pet 5:8). We are to bear one another’s burdens, supporting those who are weak and so fulfilling the ‘law’ of Christ—who lovingly acted on our behalf when we couldn’t help ourselves (Rom 15:1; 1 Cor 9:21; Gal 6:2).

Reflection and Application

Whose ‘arms’ am I holding up this week—and who is holding up mine?
Is my help a hand up that builds dignity, or a hand out that breeds dependency?
Who around me is isolated or discouraged, and how can I draw alongside them?
Will I willingly receive help as well as give it?