Illustration for Walter Crane's fable in The Baby's Own Aesop
(1887)
The phrase " God helps those who help themselves"
" is a motto that emphasizes the importance of one's own initiative and agency.
The expression is known all over the world and is used to inspire people to help themselves. The phrase originated in ancient Greece as " The gods help those who help themselves
" and may have originally been proverbial. This is illustrated by two of Aesop's Fables and a similar view can be found in ancient Greek drama. Although it is usually attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the modern English formulation appears earlier in Algernon Sidney's work.
This phrase is often mistaken for a quotation from Holy Scripture, although it is not stated verbatim in the text. Bible. Few Christians have criticized this expression as contrary to the biblical message of God of Grace.[1] A variant of the phrase can also be found in the Quran (13:11).[2][3]
Origin of this expression
The phrase “God helps those who help themselves” is not found in the Bible. It is generally accepted that this expression first appeared in one of Aesop's fables, which tells the story of Hercules and the driver. However, this phrase is also found in other works of ancient literature, written by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.
It is not so important which of the ancient authors first mentioned this expression. All that matters is that the Bible and other Christian texts are not the sources of this quotation.
God has a better plan for every person
There is a story in the Bible about the death of Lazarus. Lazarus was well known to Jesus. And so it happened that Lazarus died. Sisters Mary and Martha informed Jesus about the death of Lazarus and actually blamed him for the death. They knew that Jesus could perform miracles and they knew that He could help Lazarus. But now Lazarus had been lying dead in the tomb for several days. Why doesn't God help? God has a better plan.
Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha replied, “I know that he will rise when the people rise on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live even after death (John 11:23-25)
and further
Having said this, He cried out with a loud voice: “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet were in grave clothes, and his face was covered with a piece of cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him from the grave clothes and let him go.” And then many of the Jews who came to visit Mary and saw what Jesus had done believed in Him. (John 11:43-45)
Jesus eventually raised Lazarus. But the main thing in this whole story is not that Jesus Christ raised Lazarus. The main goal was for people to believe in Christ and, having believed, gain eternal life. And this eternal life is much greater than all the suffering that exists in this earthly life. Lazarus then died again. But he died to live forever. Mary and Martha were no longer worried. They knew the truth. They knew that death is only the beginning of a new life. Eternal life with God. This is God's amazing plan, which we do not see when we suffer. For this reason, it seems to us that God does not help when we need Him so much.
How did the expression come to Europe?
Ancient writers wrote a lot, but not all phrases from their works became catchphrases. Why did this expression become popular and often used?
The English philosopher, public and political figure Algernon Sidney, who lived in the seventeenth century, was a fan of ancient literature. It was he who first used the proverb in the sense in which we now use it in discussions. A century later, in 1757, the phrase was included in Poor Richard's Almanack, compiled by Benjamin Franklin, and thereafter became a catchphrase that became part of everyday speech.
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"God doesn't give us more than we can handle"
No, it certainly does. Ask the Apostle Paul, who wrote these words in 2 Corinthians: “We do not want you, brothers, to be ignorant of the hardships we have experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure beyond our capabilities, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt that our death warrant had been signed.”
Paul's choice of phrases such as "under great pressure," "beyond our means," and "desperate even for life" shows us that the difficulties he and the other disciples faced were far from being what they could withstand.
Does the meaning of the expression contradict biblical truths?
The Bible does not teach people to solve problems on their own; on the contrary, Christianity calls to trust in the hands of the Lord and rely entirely on his will. And, of course, the Bible does not teach that God helps those who help themselves.
According to Christian teaching, God helps those in need. That is, if a person needs help, God will certainly provide it. God helps the helpless, weak, oppressed, deprived of rights and suffering various hardships. The Lord helps those who pray to him about this and trust in him.
In other words, the Lord provides help and bestows His mercies on those people who are unable to help themselves. The Bible teaches that God helps the helpless and gives them eternal life in Christ.
Why did God need to create the world? Was He missing something?
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes.
Question to the editor of “Foma”:
Why did the Creator need creation? After all, His bliss is absolute, and no external factors can strengthen this bliss or in any way change...
Priest Evgeniy Murzin answers:
Priest Evgeny MURZIN
The patristic teaching about the creation of the world by God deduces the emergence of the universe from such properties of God as goodness and love. As St. John of Damascus writes, “the good and all-good God was not content with contemplating Himself, but out of the abundance of His goodness He deigned that something should happen that in the future would benefit from His benefits and be involved in His goodness.” God Himself does not need creation. The latter does not enrich the life of the Most Holy Trinity in any way; She neither gains nor loses anything, since she possesses all the fullness of being, life, joy and love.
Therefore, it would be correct to ask the question: not why, but for what, why does the Lord create the world? After all, even if we talk about the goodness of God as the reason for creation, the very concept of “reason” cannot be considered in our usual meaning - as something that forces us to act in one way or another. Creation is an absolutely free action, not determined by cause-and-effect necessity. As Vladimir Lossky wrote about this, “God is the Creator because he wished to be one.”
God creates the world in order to share the blessings of His existence with angels, people, the universe, to make us all partakers of Divine bliss. It is important to understand that this urge to create did not arise in God at some point in time. The Divine plan for the world is as eternal as God Himself is eternal. John of Damascus, already quoted above, expressed this thought as follows: God “contemplated all things before their existence, representing them in His mind from eternity.”
Of course, this explanation, like all our attempts to describe things incomprehensible to reason, although it brings us closer to understanding what happened before the beginning of created existence, does not give a complete and clear idea. From the above quotation we can only conclude that creation is a kind of transition from eternal divine ideas and contemplation to the real existence of the world, which occurred with the advent of time or, as St. Basil the Great wrote, “at the beginning of time” - after all, time, like space, appeared simultaneously with primary matter.
It is also important to emphasize that God created the universe out of nothing. This means that all creation has its source of existence in its Creator and cannot exist without Him. God supports and gives life to the world, and the latter exists solely by virtue of its participation in His Divine energies. Everything created bears the stamp of divine goodness and love. Man, being the crown of creation, a free being created in the image and likeness of God, is called upon not only to accept the love of God, but also to return his love to the Creator and thus take part in the fullness of divine existence.
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What is the help of the Lord?
Psalm 51 contains lines that say that every person is completely helpless to save himself, since everyone is a sinner by nature.
That is, the help provided to people by the Lord is not at all assistance in acquiring material wealth, power, or achieving any other vain goals. From the Lord comes exactly the help that we all need most. The Lord grants hope for the salvation of man’s immortal soul, for the acquisition of eternal life, which God offers in Christ.
Example from the Gospel
One answer can be found in the New Testament. The disciple of Christ, the evangelist Matthew, described the case of a Canaanite woman. A pagan woman whose daughter was possessed by a demon came to Jesus. The mother asked for help, but Christ refused her; he said: “I did not come to deal with all people. I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Despite the outright refusal, the woman continues to bow and call on him. The Lord remains adamant - does not answer, does not give her hope. The intercession of the apostles, who stood up for the poor woman, does not help either. But the desperate mother continues to strenuously ask for the Lord's mercy. Jesus, amazed at the woman’s persistence, says: “How great is your faith! I drive, I push you away, and you believe me? What a beautiful heart! Let it be done according to your will.” And that hour her daughter was healed.
Using the example of this woman, the Lord shows that no matter how sad the situation may be, no matter how it may seem that God is indifferent and does not hear the request, one must not weaken in faith and lose hope. Time spent in prayer teaches patience, humility, and diligence in trusting in God's mercy. The Lord hesitates to answer because He foresees this to be good for man. As soon as people understand and learn this lesson, humble their pride, learn to pray constantly and selflessly, God will respond to their requests.
What is the danger of this expression?
“God helps those who help themselves” - the meaning of this phrase may seem good at first glance, but it is not so. In fact, everyone who follows this principle in life rejects the Lord as the Savior, placing man and his actions at the center of everything that happens.
In other words, when following the principle set forth in this catchphrase, a person assigns a secondary role to the Lord. With this attitude, God is a “peripheral figure” who rewards people with material benefits for specific actions. But is this Christian? Of course no.
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Recommendations
- “God helps those who help themselves—is that in the Bible?” Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- “The Koran - Surat Ar-Rad. Sahih translation." Archived from the original April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
- "Quran Surah Ar-Rad (verse 11)." Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- Sophocles: Tragedies and Fragments
.
2
. Translated by E. H. Plumptre. paragraph 165. fragment 288. Also in fragment 302 it is said: “Chance never helps people who do not work.” - Fragment 435, from Bartlett's book 1955 (?)
- IPHIGENIA IN THE TAURICA OF EURIPIDES
. Translation by Theodor Alois. lines 910–913 - "ATALANTA". Perseus Digital Library
. Archived from the original May 7, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2015. - For other versions, see: "Perry's Index to Aesopica". Esopika
. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2010. - "'The Castaway Man and Athena,' translated by Gibbs." MythFolklore.net. Archived from the original October 8, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
- Francisco Rodriguez Adrados (1999). History of a Greco-Latin fable
. v. 3. p. 43. ISBN 9004118918. - "Carter in the swamp." Fables of Jean de La Fontaine
. July 27, 2011. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. - George Herbert (1651). Yakula Prudentum
. proverb 533 - Sidney, Algernon (1698). "Chapter 2". Discourses about government
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. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2014. - Gilman, D.S.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., ed. (1905). "Aide-toi et le ciel t'aidera." New International Encyclopedia
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(1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. - Woodrow M. Kroll (2007). Bringing Back the Good Book: How America Forgot the Bible and Why It Matters to You
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. Royal books. item 90. From a survey conducted sometime between 1997 and 2000 (see page 205, item 2) - Americans' Biblical Knowledge Is Estimated, But Often Falls Short
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. July 12, 2000 As stated in Marvin Hunt. “Americans’ biblical knowledge…is not at the core.” Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. - Barna survey in 1997 and 1998, cited on websites. Additionally, “Researcher Predicts Growing Challenges to the Christian Church.” Barna Update
. April 16, 2001. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010. describes this as most - Barna, George (1998). The Second Coming of the Church
. Nashville: Word. pp. 21–22. as stated by Michael S. Horton. “Are the Churches Secularizing America?” Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2010." - George Barna (2001). Making True Disciples: New Strategies for Raising True Followers of Christ
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