Whether we know it or not, we are all burdened with a certain level of baggage. Some of this baggage comes from our past, but new baggage is consistently accumulating. Before the naysayers jump in to suggest this assessment is unscriptural, one ought to consider the fighters that gathered themselves together unto David in 1 Samuel 22:1-2.
The baggage brought by David's troops was not unlike baggage carried by men today. They were in distress, in debt, and discontented. No doubt, these problems were due to failed governments, failed civilization, and parental failures. These men likely saw everybody else as the problem, never understanding that they might bear some of the responsibility for their own baggage.
The sad truth is that the baggage carried by David's men eventually affected David (1 Samuel 24:1-8). It is common knowledge that Saul, the king of Israel, had a personal vendetta against David. David's followers came to David because of problems with Saul and other authority figures in their lives. While Saul sought to do harm to David, he ended up in a vulnerable position in the presence of David and his men. All the frustrations, discontentment, bitterness, and such led David's men to encourage him to attack Saul. Sadly, David reacted to their recommendations and regrettably cut off the skirt of Saul's robe.
Later, David once again faced the threat of allowing the baggage of his men to move him to inappropriate action against Saul (1 Samuel 26:1-25). David learned his lesson and refused to allow the internal struggles and external recommendations of his men to cause him to sin.
The average individual today faces many of the same struggles. This struggle is manifested in one of two ways, or both. First, we struggle to overcome our own baggage and allow it to harm others around us. Secondarily, we struggle not to allow the baggage borne by others to cause us to sin. These failures are manifested mostly in our relationships. We have baggage from the past and we carry it into the present harming those who love us most. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning of the vicious cycle because our baggage then gets carried into the future.
The practical understanding of this plays out as follows: (1) baggage from previous friendships hinders present and future friendships; (2) trust issues from the past cause difficulties in trusting in the present; (3) those brought up by failing parents struggle in their own marriage and parenting.
We may not like to confess that we carry any baggage, but the truth is we do. In fact, some of the greatest advice I ever received from my late pastor, David F. Reagan, was to let my baggage keep me humble and remind me of who I am and where I came from, but to never let it affect others. As such, I must be careful never to let my hurts in life, ministry, or otherwise move me to harm others. God help us to get victory over our own baggage and refuse to sin when affected by the baggage carried by others.
*Note: This article was written by Pastor Andrew Ray in 2016 and is posted here with no updates.
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