Does God Only Help Those Who Help Themselves?

In the past when I commented it would a long time before our congregation would have to act on faith I received several harsh responses from men who consider relying on God as a sin in that it tests God and additionally is bad business. They functionally believe God helps those who help themselves. They have never experienced having nothing.

 

 

Several months ago following the tornado in the Greenville area the men's meeting discussed helping the victims of that storm. Did they really need our help? Were others providing what was needed? What were the government and non government agencies doing? We have people in Greenville area, presumably Christians, who have no house, no clothes, no car, no drivers license, no credit cards, no bank cards, no water, no food and we sit in our multi-million-dollar building with an emergency fund wondering if those folks needed our help.

 

 

Instead of a no-end-in-sight class on the Holy Spirit a class on "what it means to depend on God" might be of some value.  What can we realistically expect of God?

 

 

In Matthew we read where Jesus sent the twelve out with the following instructions:

 

Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 

 

 

It appears the apostles were being sent out depending on God's people not God. I often hear Christians say they are the hands and feet of God to the lost.  That suggests God's response to prayers will come through his people not his direct intervention. People influenced by God doing what they believe God wants helping people. People doing what God wants them to do, promoting his agenda could be said to be God acting as Jesus called Peter Satan when Peter was promoting Satan's agenda by discouraging Jesus from his mission.