God Helps Those Who Help Themself

If you ever watched The Tonight Show, when Jay Leno was hosting, he would do a segment called Jaywalking. During this time he would walk around the street asking random people questions. One of the episodes, he asked people to name one of the Ten Commandments, and what do you think was the most popular answer?

Shocklingly, the most popular response was: God helps those who help themselves!

You might be scratching your head right now and saying, but wait! That isn’t a Ten Commandment. According to a Barna Poll from 2000, when presented with the statement, “The Bible teaches that God helps those who help themselves” 53% of Americans strongly agreed and 22% somewhat agreed. That’s 75%. Three out of every four Americans believed that statement was in the Bible. And in fact, five percent of American teenagers said they believed that it was the central message of the Bible.

Today we start a sermon series for the summer titled, “Bible Myths” Looking at popular phrases that people often will comment that are found in the Bible, when indeed they are not.

So, where did this phrase come from? The sentiment appears in several ancient Greek tragedies as early as 428BC. One of Aesop’s Fables called Hercules and the Wagoneer, first recorded in the 1st century AD tells of a tale where a man’s cart gets stuck in the mud and he prays to Hercules for help. Hercules replies, “Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel. The gods help them that help themselves.” Aesop is also credited with a similar fable about a man who calls on the goddess Athena for help when his ship is wrecked and is advised to try swimming first. The phrase is often mistakenly attributed to scripture, largely because a similar sentiment—”Allay will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves"— found in the Quran. Algernon Sidney, a political theorist, in 1698 first published the exact wording, “God helps those who help themselves” in his book Discourses Concerning Government and Benjamin Franklin in 1736 made it famous globally when he included it in his publication Poor Richard’s Almanac. Franklin was a deist who didn’t believe in a personal God who was actively involved in the affairs of people, but he believed in a god who set the world in motion, standing at a distance while one fends for themselves.

On the surface for some, this statement could sound good but it can be anti-Gospel, based on the concept of self-reliance and self-righteousness. It comes from the belief that if you try harder and do better, then God will step in and help you in some way.

You might think though that there are, which highlight God's blessing on those who faithfully serve and obey Him such as,

Deuteronomy 28:8 “The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

Proverbs 12:11 “Those who till their land will have plenty of food, but those who follow worthless pursuits have no sense.”

Proverbs 12:24 “The hand of the diligent will rule, while the lazy will be put to forced labor.”

Proverbs 13:4 “The appetite of the lazy craves, and gets nothing, while the appetite of the diligent is richly supplied.”

Now, none of these verses are untrue. They are God's Word, and they teach an important biblical principle: diligence is generally wiser than laziness, and God can bless faithful obedience. But that's not the same thing as saying, "God helps those who help themselves."

These passages describe how God's world ordinarily works. They encourage responsibility, hard work, wisdom, and faithful stewardship. Yet none of them teach that God's help is something we earn by trying harder, doing better, or getting our lives together first.

In fact, Scripture consistently shows that God is not merely reactive to human effort. He is the One who takes the initiative. He is the One who seeks, saves, calls, strengthens, and rescues. God's grace does not begin where our effort ends; God's grace is the reason we can do anything at all. The Bible doesn't say God helps those who help themselves. The Bible says God helps those who cannot save themselves.

While you may know that that message is not in the Bible, have you ever used the logic of it? Have you ever thought, why does God used some of the flawed individuals in the Bible to accomplish his purpose?

Noah, a man of faith, yet after the flood he became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.

Jacob, a deceiver who cheated his brother and manipulated situations for his own gain.

Moses was a murderer who doubted God’s calling and often struggled with anger.

Jonah ran from God’s call and became angry when God showed mercy.

David was an adulterer and murderer who nevertheless became known as a man after God’s own heart because of his repentance.

Peter was impulsive, speaking before thinking, fearful and denied Jesus three times. Yet Jesus restored him and used him to preach at Pentecost, where thousands came to faith.

Have you ever thought why God used any one of these individuals? Have you ever thought, shouldn’t God only use good people to do his will? Shouldn’t God only work through those who have the right beliefs and right behaviors? Why would he choose to use ...name any one of these characters? If God only used people who had it all together, who would be left?

But if we use that logic, that type of thinking, we are then suggesting that God is a god who merely reacts. Who only responds and responds to our good works. In other words, who helps those who help themselves. Scripture points us to flawed people whom God used despite their weakness, failures, sins, and inadequacies. God's work through them was not a reward for having it all together; it was a display of His grace and power.

The Bible certainly teaches that obedience matters and that wisdom generally leads to better outcomes than foolishness. This is often called the Retribution Principle—the idea that righteous living leads to blessing, while wicked living leads to hardship. Deuteronomy 28 is perhaps the clearest example of this principle in Scripture. However, wisdom literature also reminds us that life is not a simple formula. The book of Proverbs often teaches what is generally true, but books like Job and Ecclesiastes remind us that what is generally true is not always universally true.

One of the dangers of the phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is that it can subtly lead us toward a prosperity-gospel way of thinking. The prosperity gospel teaches that if we do the right things—have enough faith, give enough money, pray the right prayers, or live obediently enough—God is obligated to bless us with health, wealth, success, and happiness. While "God helps those who help themselves" may sound less extreme, it starts from the same foundation: the idea that God's favor is earned rather than received by grace. The logic goes something like this:

"If I work hard, God will bless me."

"If I obey enough, God will reward me."

"If I'm struggling, maybe I'm not doing enough."

"If someone is prospering, God must be pleased with them."

Before long, blessing becomes something we achieve rather than something we receive from a gracious Father. The reality is that righteous people sometimes suffer. Job lost his children, his wealth, and his health, not because he had sinned, but because he was righteous. The prophets were persecuted. The apostles were imprisoned. Jesus Himself was perfectly obedient, yet suffered more than anyone. Likewise, wicked people do not always experience immediate consequences. The psalmist struggled with this very issue in Psalm 73, observing that the arrogant seemed to prosper while the faithful suffered. This teaches us an important truth: we do not fully understand everything about God's world, ways, or Himself. There are countless factors at work in a fallen creation—human choices, natural disasters, systemic injustice, spiritual realities, and the effects of sin. Sometimes God blesses immediately; sometimes He delays. Sometimes He rescues; sometimes He sustains through suffering. Sometimes His purposes are obvious; sometimes they are hidden. And we certainly do not fully understand God Himself. His wisdom is higher than ours. His purposes extend beyond what we can see. As Isaiah reminds us, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord."

The danger comes when we assume that every blessing is a reward and every hardship is a punishment. That was the mistake of Job's friends. They looked at Job's suffering and concluded that he must have done something wrong. God later rebuked them because they had misunderstood both Job and God. The wisdom of Scripture is not that life always makes sense. The wisdom of Scripture is that God can be trusted even when life does not make sense. That is why the gospel is such good news. God's love for us is not measured by our prosperity, nor is His displeasure measured by our suffering. The clearest evidence of God's love is not found in our circumstances but in the cross of Jesus Christ. God's greatest blessing came to us not because we had earned it, but because we desperately needed it. Christ did not die for people who had successfully helped themselves. He died for sinners who were powerless to save themselves.

Certainly, God calls us to diligence, faithfulness, and obedience. Yet these are responses to God's grace, not prerequisites for it. We obey because we have been loved; we do not obey in order to earn His love. The prosperity gospel says, "Do more, and God will bless you." The gospel says, "God has blessed you in Christ; therefore, live faithfully for Him." Romans 5:6 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” Not when we were helping ourselves. Not when we had cleaned ourselves up. Not when we had proven our worth. While we were weak. That's where grace begins.

Scripture isn’t a story about God helping those who help themselves. It’s a story of how God restores those who have failed. And have we not all failed? Romans 3:23 “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;” Page after page, we meet people who are fearful, broken, doubting, impulsive, sinful, and weak. And yet God uses them—not because they were strong enough to help themselves, but because He is gracious enough to help them.

While we heard verses which highlight God's blessing on those who faithfully serve and obey Him. Hear these verses:

Proverbs 28:26 “Those who trust in their own wits are fools; but those who walk in wisdom come through safely.”

Psalm 72:12–14 “For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.”

Isaiah 25:4 “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,”

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

Now, this isn’t to say that we have no part to play, no. So, what does the Bible teach us? What is our part?

Read and believe God’s Word. We hear in Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.”

Pray, Speak, and Obey God’s Word. Believe that God will do what He says He will do.

God helps people who can’t help themselves. While we are called to live responsibly and wisely, we cannot overcome our sin or make ourselves right with God through our own efforts. Our hearts are broken by sin, and we need God's intervention. That is why the gospel is such good news. As Titus 3:5 reminds us “he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Salvation is not something we earn; it is a gift of God's grace to those who trust in Him.

Faith begins when we recognize our need for Him. God’s help of people helps them help themselves. The Bible’s teaching isn’t that God just does everything for us, however, the idea is that His help in our lives enables us to do things we never would have been capable of. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” When we turn to God in faith, we have His love motivating us, His strength enabling us, and His hope encouraging us. It’s a new day with new possibilities. Our obedience does not earn God's help. Our obedience is our response to God's help.

So, maybe we know that “God helps those who helps themselves” is not in the Bible, but we sometimes react as if this were the case. We may question why God uses any one of these flawed characters in Scripture, or flawed individuals around us. We may not expect perfection, but for people to at least try, put in a bit of effort to serve God, honor God, please God. Some serve themselves and please themselves. Why would God use them? You see, if we think this way, we’re losing the concept of a God who freely acts according to his divine prerogative. Who takes divine initiative to move first. What we're losing is the doctrine of grace – where God is free to act first before we get our act together. We can't lose these things. God's prerogative. God's initiative. God's grace. These concepts are supplanted if God only helps those who help themselves.

The Bible teaches that we are not self-sufficient beings, capable of earning God’s favor through our own efforts. Instead, we are deeply in need of His grace, love, and strength to do what we could never do on our own. Real transformation happens not when we rely on ourselves, but when we acknowledge our need for God and allow Him to work through us. It’s not about proving our worth; it’s about receiving His mercy and living empowered by His Spirit. That’s the true source of lasting change. It’s not, "Help yourself, and God will meet you halfway." It’s, “while we were helpless, Christ came for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God made us alive together with Christ.” The Bible is not the story of people who got their act together so God could use them. It is the story of a gracious God who moves first, rescues sinners, and then transforms them by His grace. And that is amazing news, hallelujah and amen!