ptl@fluke.UUCP (10/17/86)
Hi, 10/16/86 "God helps those who help themselves" is a saying I've always disliked, only to find out it has much truth in it. As a Christian I'm told to turn everything over to God, then somehow He'll work in my life. So I say the words with all the meaning I can muster, and wait for God to act. And wait, and wait. Today I bottomed out --- fed up with trying to act Christian but not feeling it in my heart, and not seeing it in my actions and words with family and friends.. Tired of presenting my views of Christianity to Christians and non-Christians alike who actually enjoy putting others down more than they enjoy sharing their own thoughts. And fed up with those many Christians out there who never do more than look-in on the newsgroup, or write email only to complain when their sensitivities have been offended, very few words of support. Tired of listening to pious Christian words, mine and others, and the poisonous anti-God words. Tired of defending God's goodness when it is hard for me to see and believe in. Fed up with myself for not being the person I think I'm supposed to be. And mad at God for not lifting a hand to help. So I plopped into my chair today and smoldered. I read the newsgroups only to find more junk, finished with that and smoldered even more. Then my best friend Bob dropped by. He is at one of our other plants, and very seldom makes it over here. We talked. He reminded me I used to say "Say a prayer and go like hell"; an updated version of `pray as if everything depends on God, and act as if everything depends on you.' Then he mentioned the phrase I dislike so much - "God helps those who help themselves." We talked about it. He had a meeting to go to, so I went back to the newsgroups, and found new articles, one by Kiki where she made the same exact statement and spoke on the idea some. The more I think about it, the more I realize Jesus didn't seek out people to heal, they sought Him out. There is even one instance where two blind men called to Him and He walked right by them. They ran after Him trying to get His attention. I can just picture them falling and bumping into things. They catch up to Him, and He asks them what they want. You can figure the rest of the story. There's the woman who was hemoraging - she had to go to Him. Even the centurion and the parents of the girl who died had to go to Jesus to ask Him to come to where His help was needed. The man on the stretcher had to have friends tear up the roof of a house to lower him on the stretcher down to Jesus inside the house. Then I remembered the place where Jesus says to `ask, seek and knock'. I wonder why I have to act first, why can't He, He is God anyway. What strikes me thru all this is something I already know, but wish was easy to live, so I fight it - God wants me to know what I want, and to know I can depend on Him to answer, provide and open the things I need in life. God Bless, Mike Andrews (PTL)
dcm@sfsup.UUCP (David C. Miller, consultant) (10/18/86)
In article <6281@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU> Mike writes: > >I wonder why I have to act first, why can't He, He is God anyway. Have you ever had someone do something for you without your asking them? And then felt a bit miffed that they didn't let you know what they were doing? Well, It's sort of like that in our relationship with God. If He was always "butting in" and fixing things unasked, I think 2 things would occur. 1. A lot of people would grow to resent His "interference". Sort of the way a teenager does when his or her parents lay down the law. More often than not the person being helped is not necessarily in a position to understand that what has been done is for their own good. 2. The people that didn't would come to depend on His divine intervention. I sure we have all encountered this or at least seen it happen to someone else. The problem is that man is basically greedy and lazy. I've heard many a teenager praying something like, "Dear God, please help me pass this test," when they haven't even opened the text book. This brings up the same Catch-22 as above. What if something that we expected God to do wasn't in our best interest? I suspect a lot of people would be crying, "if God loves me why didn't he...." Also, don't forget that we've been given free choice. God's not going to interfere where he hasn't been asked. Plus, going through things instead of around them is a good learning experience. I'm sure Mike learned something through this experience. >What strikes me thru all this is something I already know, but wish was >easy to live, so I fight it - God wants me to know what I want, and to know >I can depend on Him to answer, provide and open the things I need in life. Sigh, it is hard. We always seem to fight so against what is best for us. I guess that's just part of life on Earth. It is however refreshing to remember that "My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in Glory" and that He causes "all things to work together for the good for those that love the Lord." > >God Bless, > >Mike Andrews (PTL) Maranatha! Dave Miller (ihnp4!sfsup!dcm) [I received two other attempts at postings today. Unfortunately the bodies of the messages were empty. Both of them were via seismo, with which we have been having horrible communications problems. I sent mail to the original authors, but I am afraid it may not get through. Hence this note. --clh ]
bourland@unc.UUCP (Daniel Bourland) (10/23/86)
Fortunately, this phrase is not scripture and thus, we (Christians) are not "bound" to it. The problem with this little phrase is that grace is eliminated from the picture - that is, if we do something, God will reward us. That's called conditional love. Christ died for us, regardless of anything we could be or do - His death was not by our merit, but by God's grace. His death for us is act of grace. Now, it may be that this phrase is used out of context (I have heard it ascribed to Winston Churchill), because there are some Christians who are spiritually well-fed, but refuse to act on their knowledge and/in faith (the Corinthians are an example). I can see God in a sense "waiting" for these people (I am one of them occassionally) to respond, however, it is only by His grace that any response is possible. To believe that we must first create within ourselves the motivation to act, then God will help us, is not the will of our loving God. The bottom line is grace without merit.