God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

      My memories of fourth grade in elementary school, brings about mixed emotions.  Our family was very poor, but we were a family of faith.  My sister and I were taught to share our belief with everyone, and this included with friends at school.  There was a day, in gym class, I will never forget.  

I don’t remember what precipitated the conversation.  It could have been how I was dressed, the shoes I wore, or any number of things.  But my response to the unkind remarks about whatever it was, included, “God will take care of me.”  The comment following has remained with me, even as a visual of the event in my mind.  One of the five or six girls, who were surrounding me said, “God helps those who help themselves!”

There is no memory of what happened next.  It stops there.  I suppose it made me wonder if our family wasn’t doing enough to bring us into economic materialist wealth. It as easily, could have been something else.  Regardless, material wealth never happened.  But recently, there was a conversation about the use of this particular expression.

A teacher was explaining that she had worked in a Second Language environment to college-age students.  They were working with pronouns (myself, yourself, etc.) and students had to fill in the blanks with the correct word in their workbook.  One student, after class, came up to her, questioning one of the sentences.  “God helps those who help______.”   The teacher explained to the student before her, that this is a very common expression used by, or at least heard by, people in the United States.  Confidently she said, “The answer is “themselves.”   

The student’s response rocked the instructor, as it did me! He said: “Oh, I thought God helps those who helps others.”  Apparently, there is some credence to the expression, according to some ministers, who cite, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 or James 4:8, for validation.  But consider the idea that “God helps those who cannot help themselves,’ as suggested by the student.  This is where God’s Grace comes in.  The expression might be more of a proverb, than an actual Biblical truth.

We are told to love our neighbor as ourselves.  When we love someone, we care for them-- and care can be manifested in a variety of forms.  It may be a physical need we are caring for, if a loved one is ill.  For a neighbor in close proximity, it may be taking meals, or offering transportation somewhere.  For a stranger, it may be impractical for a ‘physical’ helping, although offering a gift card for food would be a wonderful way to help—and there are many other ways of ‘serving’ that help others.  

But love can also be demonstrated through small kindnesses to a stranger by offering a seat on a bus or train, a smile or kind word, carrying groceries for the elderly, letting someone go before you in line, paying for a coffee, or groceries, and list can go on and on.  These acts of kindness are acts of love like God instructed us to do—in an effort, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, body and strength, while we love our neighbors as we love ourselves.