God helps those that help themselves

Is it scripture?

“God helps those who help themselves”

There are countless scriptures that will uphold that God is our helper, however does that mean that God will ONLY help those that help themselves in this world. One such scripture is Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (NIV). But the quote, “God helps those that help themselves” is nowhere in the Bible.

It is true that we are nothing without God. The Bible plainly reads that He sent his son to die for us that we may be saved, through Christ, and not of ourselves. God saved us as sinners. If we were creatures worthy to be in His presence we wouldn’t need that salvation.

 God does not reward us for being self sufficient He rewards us for trusting and following Him. It is true, that in order to receive the help we need from God we must first act according to His plans and timing, not ours.

So, where does this mistaken quote originate? The original writer was a British philosopher named Algernon Sidney, who coined the term in an article titled Discourses Concerning Government in 1698; Benjamin Franklin then repeated the phrase in 1757 with his Poor Richards Almanac (gotquestions.org).

I believe there is some truth to this quote though, because when accomplishing something for one’s own greed or profit, God is not always going to help just because you want the help but God does call us to act when it is for His kingdom.

Christina Lynn-Valencia