I'm fresh off a 10 hour disaster shift. Hot tea in hand and starting to unwind. I'm sure there are a million different things I could write about, and yet nothing seems to come to mind... BUT I owe you a blog entry, so here it is. [commence segue]
I should warn you that this is completely off the cuff and could make absolutely no sense. But a few weeks ago (see link above) I was blogging about fear. In my case, overcoming that fear by focusing on small, purposeful to-do lists that keep me focused on the baby steps I must take to achieve the big picture - and not distracted by just how big the big picture is! I am an avid lover of quotes, so naturally this brought a few to mind:
"All the so-called "secrets of success" will not work unless you do." -Author Unknown
"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." -Thomas Jefferson
"It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan." -Eleanor Roosevelt.
“God helps those who help themselves.” -Benjamin Franklin (attributed...hold that thought)
And now here we go: “God helps those who help themselves.” It's a quote I hear frequently. Often thrown around with "work as if everything depended upon you, pray as if it depended upon God." Now, the people I hear using these phrases aren't the people who spend time debating theology. They are the sort of people that prescribe to the "God wouldn't send a good person to hell" sect of Christianity. But is this a quote that Christians should be repeating? Here goes nothing...
Conservative Christians find issue from this quote right away because of it's commonly attributed source: Benjamin Franklin. Many people enjoy the belief that America was founded upon Christian values. This isn't entirely true. America was founded for religious freedom, yes, and it's founders followed loose Christian ideals but to say that it was founded as a Christian Nation is not entirely accurate. The religion of George Washington is debated; however, Benjamin Franklin was an open Deist and while Thomas Jefferson labeled himself as a Unitarian, he actually displayed the greatest Deist tendencies. So what does being a Deist have to do with it? A Deist believes in the existence of a supreme being, and that they created the universe, but that this supreme being does not manipulate or alter mortal affairs. Deists do not believe in miracles or prophecy. SO the idea that Franklin, a Deist who did not believe that God would bother himself with human problems, believed that God would help those who help themselves seems pretty ridiculous to me. (And by the way, Franklin also never said "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." It was just another historical misquote. I'm SO sorry to burst your bubble, except, you know, not really...) Also, Franklin made other comments stating that he believed that all responsibility fell upon the human race (because God would not interfere). Who knows, maybe he was just trying to induce proactive behaviors in society...
So next victim: Algernon Sidney. I know what you're thinking: "who are you talking about?" Long story short, he was a British politician back in the 17th century that was axed by King Charles II for treason. Something about a silly plot against the King and KCII took offense - some people can be so sensitive! Anyway... Algernon was considered a Calvinist republican. His main argument was the idea that God created us to be free and not to live under the dominion of an earthly king. There are two main problems I have with this quote in the context of Algernon. I will explain the second issue first. Since there were significantly less distractions back in the 17th century, Algernon would have been well read, having access to the Bible, along with other classic literature. The second dilemma: this quote word for word was popularized by Algernon Sidney in the United Kingdom, and then America by Benjamin Franklin, but can be traced back further to Greek mythology. There were four Greek authors (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Babrius) who utilized the theme in their tragedies. This isn't surprising because the theme ultimately can be traced back to a Greek proverb referring to Athena: "Along with Athena, move also your hand." Well Athena is not the god I worship, so that slightly changes the sentiment. About that... Given the cult-like religion displayed by the Greeks and the belief that humans were merely pawns to be shuffled about by the Gods, I'm not sure the transition of the quote into Christian society is appropriate. That was the second dilemma, I would argue the first dilemma is that it simply isn't supported throughout the Bible. Algernon would have had access to a Bible, and was probably well read. [Thomas Jefferson, Deist or not, would read through the Bible, in it's entirety, three times in one year.]
The Bible simply does not proclaim this message. If anything, it is the complete opposite. Our dependence on Christ. How doomed we are by sin. Helpless, hopeless and foolish. When I think of analogies in the Bible, immediately sheep, trees, spring come to mind. The spring simply gushes water from it's source; it is immobile and cannot change it's surroundings. The tree may sprout anywhere, but once it has put out roots it is immobile. It cannot change it's surrounds, it cannot control the weather, or what kind of nutrients it receives. And then there is the sheep. I have owned a sheep... Sure, they're cute but they are not the brightest animals. They survive by being afraid. They can run away; they have no other defenses. Sure they can normally find food on their own - only because they are not picky. Without a shepherd to tend and take care of them, they will not survive very long. They need the shepherd to take them to new pastures to eat. They need the shepherd to protect them from wolves and wild animals. They need the shepherd to feel safe. So we have the spring (immobile), the tree (immobile), and the sheep (scared of everything). They are all dependent on surroundings, and the sheep is very dependent on it's shepherd. None of these things can help themselves... By this logic, if "God helps those who help themselves" - well, I'm not sure God will be helping anyone anytime soon...
You're probably thinking that I'm done. Well... not quite. While it is safe to say that there is nothing in the Bible to support this quote, I would argue that the quote has merit when considered under the right context. As I've grown up, and grown in my faith, my perspective of this quote has changed. To me, rather than interpreting the quote for what it literally says, I infer the sentiment. This is not to say I believe we can "earn" God's blessings - we can't. That by "delighting ourselves in the Lord" (Psalm 37:4) and focusing on what is true and good, we will be able to understand and appreciate God's plan for us. And by delighting ourselves in the Lord, we will live our lives boldly for Him.
"And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." -Philippians 1:14
So while I do not agree with the quote at face value, I certainly do accept it as a perspective on life. The call for Christians to live boldly and proactively for Christ, rather than sitting around waiting for God's blessings to magically appear in our lives.
I really hope this jumble of thoughts makes sense to someone out there, but if not, at least I warned you at the very beginning! :-P
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