October 27, 2023 – Devotions – Does the Bible Say…?

Does the Bible Say “G-d Helps Those Who Help Themselves?”

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6

“For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place, you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled.” Isaiah 25:4-5

Most people have heard the saying: “God helps those that help themselves.” You can read the Bible from cover to cover and you will not find this saying on the pages – no matter what translation you read. In fact, what I have told people is just the opposite is true about G-d: “G-d helps those that cannot help themselves”. This phrase “God helps those who help themselves” appears to have originated in ancient Greece and may originally have been proverbial. It is illustrated by two of Aesop’s Fables. Although it has been commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the modern English wording appears earlier in a work by Algernon Sidney, who as a contemporary of John Locke, are considered cornerstones of western thought.

The passage is popular in part because it is a reflection of cherished American values: individual liberty and self-reliance, pulling oneself up with their bootstraps. But it is not biblical. In fact, this passage contradicts the biblical definition of goodness: defining one’s worth by what one does for others, like the poor and the outcast. In fact, it says in Leviticus 19:9-10:

“Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.”

The bible calls us to love our neighbor, to forgive limitlessly, to pray for our enemies, and to put away worry, and not judge. In these ways we trust G-d to see us through, and look to share out of our abundance.

Pastor Dave