Urban Legends #2: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves
This Sunday is the second in the series of Urban Legends: Debunking Spiritual Myth
“God helps those who help themselves.” — the Good Lord. “That has to be in the Good Book somewhere.” Just one example of how a simple false-belief that we may want to be true can lead us into trouble. Being self-reliant and independent are not worthy goals. We were created as dependant creatures — on God and on each other. If we don’t learn that truth early, it can come as a difficult and painful lesson.
In a Rolling Stone interview, Trent Reznor, the lead musician of the rock band Nine Inch Nails, muses on how his anti-religion stance helped lead him into his lapse into depression:
In my head, that spilled over into an utter-chaos outlook: “I don’t need anything, I don’t need anyone, and I don’t need to believe there’s any reason to anything.” It was a pretty self-centered approach. I was lonely and had a bleak outlook on everything. I think people have an inherent need for belonging, to feel they are part of something.
Anthony Bozza, “The Fragile World of Trent Reznor,” Rolling Stone (10-14-99), p. 140;
