A viewer writes: “You mentioned that the saying, ‘The Lord helps those who help themselves’ is from the Bible but in fact it isn’t. There are some interesting explanations about that online, and it would be interesting to hear what Creator has to say about it.” What is Creator’s perspective?

There are a number of commonly used sayings attributed to a biblical source that is not actually the case. When that happens, it is usually because there is truth inherent in the adage and is a reflection of divine wisdom, to some degree, and recognized as such intuitively. This particular saying is quite apt in representing the reality that humans must take an active role in their lives to make them better, and often must take the first step before a divine intervention of any kind can be brought to bear. This is because the divine realm is not allowed to lead. We can only follow a human lead. So divine help, first of all, must be requested from the human side, and oftentimes will require humans taking some part in what happens next because it will often not be possible for us to do all the work ourselves in making them change or others around them change. This is the essence of our recommendation again and again, that what is needed is for you to form a divine partnership with us so there is a participation and action taken, both on the human and the divine side, working together cooperatively to bring about a change for the better. It is still occasionally the case, however, that with this saying there are individuals who use it as a way to dismiss critics, and even believers who continue to suffer as a way of making excuses for lack of divine action and, in essence, rather than to buy into the doubt of someone who suffers, even when they have prayed and prayed for relief, they blame the sufferer and declare it is they who must do something to better themselves. This is often a judgment seen by a third party, that they are unworthy in some way of divine attention. So, as with many actual biblical sayings, many such phrases are metaphorical and can be interpreted in various ways, and even misinterpreted, and is simply the nature of language being one step removed from the actual energy of the intention of the source originally.