All or Nothing

How many times have you said, “Heaven helps those who help themselves”?

Can we break this down a little? I have been thinking a lot more about the words I speak. Death and life lie in the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit. Meaning words have the power to break or make. In this spirit, what exactly does that phrase mean? At what point does “heaven” help those who help themselves? What about the helpless?

Because in the same breath we also say that God qualifies the disqualified. This implies that there is an absolute helplessness. So which is it? Will you say that there are times we are completely helpless? Whether it’s at work, in our relationships, and even concerning the money left in our bank accounts, we may have done all we could, the strategies, et cetera, and still find ourselves struggling and not where we want to be. Sometimes I feel completely exhausted. Tired. Done. Maybe it’s just me. But what happens when you get there? Don’t you want someone to understand your situation? Don’t you want a hero to swoop in? Do you want someone judging you for not trying harder? Nah. At that point, you don’t want someone telling you want to do. You just want to be saved.

Even though the first saying (heaven helping those who help themselves) sounds nice, it merely appeals to our innate need to feel as if we are doing something, and may have been coined by well-meaning people who did not condone laziness or that laissez faire attitude where we expect God to come down and clean the gutters behind our homes. But when it comes to the things of God, I don’t believe God wants a roommate. It’s not more of God, less of me. It’s all of God, none of us.

So next time you are about to say heaven helps those who help themselves, ask yourself, Do you really believe it?

This isn’t a long post; just something small to kickstart your week. Whatever you do this week, look to God’s grace to make ways for you where you could never have imagined!

Stay high on grace.