God never said that he helps those who help themselves. Instead, God helps those who can’t help themselves. He saved the whole human race when we were “dead in our sins.”[1] Last I checked, the dead can’t help themselves. Yet, God chose to act, redeem, and sacrifice even his own life for those who can’t help themselves. God is extremely generous.
Helping people who can’t help themselves has always been a hallmark of Christianity. Even when Rome was against Christianity, they couldn’t help but notice how well the Christians helped those who couldn’t help themselves. Julian, Roman emperor between 361 and 363, commented “[They] support not only their poor, but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.”[2] Julian then attempted to encourage his own priests to help the poor.
But understand this, it is not the government’s job to be the savior. There already is one Savior and Lord, Jesus. He is already in control. He has already won the battle against our weaknesses, sin, and unwillingness to serve others.
Knowing this helps you in two ways. First, it helps you see people as they really are, people. If Jesus had not saved you, you would then need to save yourself. All the nice things you do for other people become a means to an end to make yourself feel morally OK. You use your helping others as a method to appease your conscience and tell yourself, “I’m not such a bad person after all.” But when you already have a Savior, you see people not as objects to use so you can be a better person, but as people, souls who have thoughts, hopes and dreams. They have intrinsic value because they have breath in their lungs.
Knowing you already have a Savior also helps you think more about serving others rather than yourself. Take any water safety class and they will tell you that you must grab the drowning person from behind because, if you don’t, they will pull you down with them. When you don’t know you are safe then your fight, flight, or freeze instincts take over. You begin to self-protect. Sadly, this has become the root of much of the abusive rhetoric in our political climate. We feel like we need to fight frantically to protect ourselves.
But if I know and trust that I am safe and I am saved by the one who loved me, then I can loosen my tight shoulders. I can return my breathing to a normal rate. I can drop my fists (or fingertips typing franticly to respond) and relax. Jesus has saved me; therefore I can appropriately think of ways to help other people.
Making a difference in the world begins outside yourself. Did you know that God loves you more than you can really understand? He would enjoy nothing more than spending eternity serving you in heaven. Making a difference becomes looking outside yourself. When you know you are deeply loved and safe, you can simply open your eyes to all the others around you. Look for a need. One moment at a time, you can make a difference.
[1] Ephesians 2:1
[2] The Works of Emperor Julian, Vol III, New York: Macmillan, p. 71
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