"...For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and
my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:6-9
How many of us have heard this quote
"God helps those who help themselves"?
And how many of us have believed that it came from the Bible?? Or, even if we
don’t believe it came from the Bible, how many of us believe that it is still good wisdom for a Christian? If so, I am
probably just as guilty as anyone else and at one time I too believed this. But
the more I get to know God, the more this quote rubs me the wrong way. And now
I believe that it is in direct opposition to what God teaches us in the Bible.
Just so that we are clear, this quote
and message is NOT in the Bible. So where did it come from? I did a quick
search and this is what I found:
"Although he didn’t invent it, Benjamin Franklin is generally held
to have popularized this motto in his Poor Richard’s Almanac. Here’s how
it appears in the 1757 edition: …let
us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us. “God helps them
that help themselves,” as Poor Richard says, in his almanac of
1733." …
The real origin of the
motto probably lies in ancient Greece, when the storyteller Aesop wove the
proverb into one of his tales:
A WAGGONER was once
driving a heavy load along a very muddy way. At last he came to a part of the
road where the wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the horses
pulled, the deeper sank the wheels. So the Waggoner threw down his whip, and
knelt down and prayed to Hercules the Strong. “O Hercules, help me in this my
hour of distress,” quoth he. But Hercules appeared to him, and said:
“Tut, man, don’t
sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel. “The gods help them
that help themselves.”
"There is a way that
seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 14:12
I think that, if we did believe this quote to be true, and are
told it isn't, we tend to do the old proverbial pendulum swing the other
direction and think or say... "What!? Are you saying that I can just
sit around and do NOTHING and God will take care of me!?" No, that is
not at all what we are saying. There is a happy medium and a balance here. You
don't have to be a slug or couch potato to rely on and trust the Lord
completely.
But here is the problem with the
message of this quote. The tendency, when we hear
this quote, is to think, "I need to help myself first, do my very best,
and try to do life, love, career, family... on my own and then when I can't do
it anymore, THEN God will come down to help me out." Right? This is not
the behavior or the will of the God I know to be the TRUE God. This is a god
that watches from afar and waits for you to fail and then maybe steps in when he is
needed. And if you notice, I am inserting scriptures that indicate that we can
be clueless as to what is actually “good” for us!
The other thing that tends to happen is
that our pride will rear its ugly head when things go well with what we do in
our own way, timing and strength, then we can get overconfident and think to
ourselves, “I really don't even need God. ‘I can do this!’ I know what I am
doing and besides, God won't do it the way, manner and timing I want anyway so
why do I need Him...? "
"The way of a fool
seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice." Proverbs 12:15
As I was pondering this topic, the Lord started showing me some
scriptures that will help me explain to you why this quote is "anti-God".
But first let me express my third concern over this quote. The part that says
"helps themselves" is a huge problem! Without God's wisdom,
understanding and guidance, we can "help ourselves" to a whole lot of
pain, misunderstanding, difficulties, wrong choices with consequences and
prideful conclusions! If we are paying attention we can clearly see that the
Bible is full of men and women who tried to do things on their own, helping
themselves, in their own way, wisdom and timing, and screwed up royally! Look
at all the kings in Israel and Judah that did not seek the Lord or rely on Him
and their reign ended in destruction and disaster
because they leaned NOT on the Lord but on their own understanding.
"Trust in the LORD with
all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be
wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring
health to your body and nourishment to your bones." Pro 3:5-8
King David comes to mind as an example
for both scenarios. In his early days he was faithful to God and "inquired
upon the Lord" for many things and God was there for him. He was in no way
“weak” or “wimpy”, he was a warrior king, but most importantly, he was a man
after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14):
"...and David
inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I
overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will
certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue." 1 Samuel 30:8
"In the course of
time, David inquired of the LORD. "Shall I go up to one of the
towns of Judah?" he asked. The LORD said, "Go up." David asked,
"Where shall I go?" "To Hebron," the LORD answered." 2 Samuel 2:1
"...so David inquired
of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand
them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will
surely hand the Philistines over to you." 2 Samuel
5:19
"...so David
inquired of the LORD, and he answered, "Do not go straight up, but
circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As
soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move
quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike
the Philistine army." So David did as the LORD commanded him, and
he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer." 2 Samuel 5:23-25
As you can see, each time David inquired of the Lord, God answered,
gave him instructions, and delivered him. David was a seasoned warrior and won
many battles so it would be easy for him to say, “I got this!” and NOT inquire
of the Lord. But David was very wise and humble then and knew he needed God to
be victorious. Because the Lord knows and see’s SO much more than we do, His guidance
is paramount to our success!
"He who trusts in
himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe." Proverbs 28:26
Here are some examples of the kings NOT
inquiring of the Lord:
"Saul died because he
was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even
consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the LORD.
So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse." 1 Chronicles 10:13-14
"It was because you,
the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke out
in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in
the prescribed way." 1 Chronicles 15:13
Those were just a couple examples but
there are many more like these in the Old Testament, but now let’s move into
the New. Let's look at Jesus and what HE did. If anyone could "help
himself" and make right choices it would be Him, right? But no, He did
not;
"Jesus gave them this
answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself;
he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the
Father does the Son also does." John 5:19
"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I
hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who
sent me." John 5:30
This is another "counter intuitive" situation with God
and the Kingdom. God WANTS us to include Him in EVERYTHING in our lives! When
we are weak, He is strong, and compared to HIM, we will always be weak! When we
truly “get” this concept, and see that we were created to be “weak” so
that we could rely on Him, we can trade our weakness in for His strength and
find a freedom that brings an amazing peace and joy!
“That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight
in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10
“But God chose the foolish things of the
world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the
strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27
Just look at the Sermon on the Mount; “Blessed are
you who are poor… Blessed are you who hunger… Blessed are you who weep… Blessed
are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you… Rejoice in
that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven…” Luke 6:20-23
Maybe we have a problem with the word
“weak”? It seems undignified and undesirable in a world and society that
admires the strong “go getters” and people who take the “bull by the horns” and
forces situations to go their way. But how long can these people maintain this
lifestyle? Inevitably they will burn out and fade away because they were never
designed to be “that” person… essentially becoming an idol or god in their own life.
Stress, nervous breakdowns, illness, addictions… are all a result of trying to
“be strong” and “helping themselves” to
a life they felt they should have instead of trusting God for the life He has
for them. I have been there, done that and now I am learning to “rest” in the Lord’s will for my life instead of trying to force it to go my way. I am submitting to His will and ways and
man, I have to tell you, while this is SUPER hard to do, it is SO much better
on so many levels! I have more peace and joy, more time and a much better
relationship with God than I ever did before. I have learned to embrace my
“weakness” and defer to God and HIS strength and it feels good and not at all undignified. Weakness is yet another word I have come to redefine in my life from
being a “bad thing” to a “good thing” in the eternal perspective.
“There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 16:25
As I was thinking about writing this blog I read this article that
spoke to this topic well so I thought I would share it with you:
August 21st Denison Forum - Daily
Article:
Paul described the source of his ministry: “For this I toil,
struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians
1:29). As we work, God works. When we give our best, God gives his best.
But when we depend on ourselves more than we submit to and rely
upon him, we miss all that Almighty God can do in and through us. That’s why I
have warned often over the years that self-sufficiency is spiritual suicide.
“I sought the
LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look
to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Psalms 34:4-5
I will end with this little nugget. When I was talking to Tom
about this blog and read to him what I had written so far, the first thing he
said was; “So, if that quote is true, then The Lord only helps those who need
Him the least!” Wow. Read that again! That simple phrase struck me as “that’s
IT in the nutshell!” If God only helps those who can help themselves, then what
about all the ones who can’t help themselves? The broken hearted, the
financially devastated, the sick, the weary, the abused, the orphans, the
widows… will God wait to help them until they can help themselves? Need I say
more?
I am SO thankful that this quote is NOT true because I for one
need ALL the help I can get!!
I thank you Lord that you are so full of compassion, grace and
mercy and don’t need us, or want us, to “help ourselves” first without you! I
thank you that You are my Strength, my Fortress and my Deliverer, my God and my
King who rescues me from myself and from others. I will gladly surrender my
strength and become weak to have you in my life in all ways possible. Amen!
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than
man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. Brothers,
think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human
standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God
chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak
things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this
world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the
things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” 1 Corinthians 1:25-29
