Does the Bible really say that God helps those who help themselves? Many believe it does, but nowhere within the Bible’s pages does this phrase appear. This idea comes instead from ancient Greek philosophers, most well-known in Aesop’s Fables.
The story goes that a man’s wagon has gotten stuck in the mud. Before he tries to get the wagon out himself, he prays to Hercules for help. Hercules appears to him and tells him that the gods only help those who help themselves.
But despite the number of Christians who quote this, the Bible reveals a God who helps those who cannot help themselves, who extends grace that we do not deserve, who strengthens us when we’re weary and comforts us when we grieve. He is the Father of the Prodigal Son, waiting to run towards us; He is a mother hen gathering us under His wings; He will not shame us for our inability or inaction.
When Hebrews 14:16 says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need”, it does not mean we can approach with confidence once we have done all we can. And when Philippians 4:6,7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”, it’s not contingent on us first trying to fix our problems before presenting our requests to God. This doesn’t mean we will always get the answers we want, but we can be assured that God will be with us and bring something good out of even the direst situations.
But on the other hand, if “God helps those who help themselves” is not true, does that mean we shouldn’t do anything to help ourselves? That we shouldn’t try at all in our lives, and expect God to do everything for us? That doesn’t seem quite right—and it’s not. We still have a choice of what to do with what God gives us. He offers us salvation and eternal life—will we accept? He sends people and opportunities into our lives and it is up to us to decide what we will do, what choices we will make and what we will do with the lives we have been given.
This idea of God only helping those who help themselves also conflicts with God’s command to love our neighbours as ourselves. If God only helps us until we’ve tried our hardest, why should we help others who don’t seem like they’re trying? Does that mean it’s up to us to decide when they’ve given it a good-enough go to deserve our help? If this extends to God, it follows that our actions determine our access to Him. However, the Bible is very clear that nothing we can do will separate us from Him (Romans 8:38,39). If neither angels nor demons can separate us from His love, neither can our inaction. In the same way, nothing should stop us from extending empathy to those in need.
Ashley Jankiewicz is an assistant editor for Adventist Record.
