God Helps Those Who Help Themselves?

I am going to start this post by humbly asking for your forgiveness. I want to rehash a topic that has been talked about for years, but it is something that I have been thinking a lot about lately. With the current economic and political situation of the United States, it seems like as good a time as any to start thinking about it again.

I assume that you all have heard the phrase “God helps those who help themselves.” Many believe that this quote comes from the Bible, and, at first glance, it seems to be harmless. After all, Proverbs 6 warns against laziness by honoring the work ethic of the ant and in Matthew 25, Christ presents two parables that speak of the virtues of preparation and hard work. In truth, however, this phrase is not in the Bible at all; Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase in Poor Richard’s Almanac in 1735.

And, honestly, how much further from the truth of our Lord can a phrase be? God helps those who help themselves? No! Our Lord helps those who cannot help themselves! Jesus healed the lame man at the pool at Bethesda (John 5:1-8). He healed the paralytic man whose friends lowered him through the roof in Capernaum (Mark 2:1-5). And He healed you and I, desperate and wicked sinners who had no hope of ever spending eternity with our God and Creator. He gave His life so that we might be freed from the bondage of our sins and know the joy of being able to boldly approach the Father and be presented holy, faultless, and blameless before Him.

Unfortunately, that phrase has a tendency to creep into our everyday speech and it is rarely spoken in a loving manner. The homeless, the prostitutes, the addicts…they can all be written off because they are obviously not helping themselves. That is not how our Saviour sees them. Thankfully, that is not how our Saviour sees us. I challenge you to try to become more like Christ in this way: help the helpless just as Christ did for you.

How do you feel about the phrase “God helps those who helps themselves?” Is there a bit of truth to it? Is it completely true?  I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.