That's Heavy Man!

What’s the heaviest thing you have ever experienced? Moving our stuff from state to state and from house to house usually makes me grumble as I am trying to squeeze a sofa through a narrow doorway up the stairs. “Why do I buy such heavy stuff? A nice light futon bed would work out just fine, or a bean bag chair for everyone instead of these monstrous couches would be fun, and couldn’t we just put our clothes in neatly arranged card board storage boxes in place of the dressers that could also be used to anchor the Queen Mary.”

For those of you who are from the Groovy generation (or if you just like to watch the Muppet Show) you may have exclaimed “That’s heavy man”, as you responded to something said that was deep, poignant or insightful. But it could also be said in observation of a sorrowful or painful experience. Heaviness can be both physical and emotional and when you experience a heavy heart it is both. Before cardiologist and psychologists defined the physical and psychological effects of anxiety, stress and worry upon our health, an ancient proverb describes it succinctly:

An anxious heart weighs a man down,
but a kind word cheers him up. – Proverbs 12:25 (NIV)

The KJV says it this way, “Heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop…” We have all gone through those times when life feels like a heavy weight upon our heart. Where we don’t feel like we have the strength to move, we feel we are suffocating, tightness in our chest where the shadow of our whole being is stooped in heaviness. That’s heavy man. As believers in Christ we are offered his strength to lift those burdens, worries and cares from our shoulders to his. He proved his strength when he carried the heavy burden of the cross to his death. Jesus felt the physical heaviness of the cross, the pain, the gasping for his last breath. The heart of Jesus carried the emotional heaviness of the cross with great sorrow and grieving by taking on the repulsive sins of humanity. Now that’s heavy man.

As the Proverb describes we have the opportunity to lighten the burden of a friend, family member, neighbor or even the young Burger King cashier with a kind word. Your kindness expressed with a tender glance, an attentive ear, a compassionate heart with a kind word of encouragement or empathy is a gift. Christ’s love and strength is offered through you as your kind word lightens the heavy burden they carry.