Helpfulness

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. 1 Corinthians 12:28

A few years ago, Ian was working on an engineering project in Thailand. He was up some scaffolding and he fell 5 metres down into a pit, and landed on his head against a bucket of chemicals which went into his eyes. So, he called out “Help!” And someone went and fetched a ladder so that he could climb out of the pit. It reminds me of the verse in Ecclesiastes (4:9,10). What does the Bible say about helpfulness?

God sets the pattern for us.  Psalm 46:1, Psalm 121. Our God is a God Who helps, and our calling is to follow His example.

In 1 Samuel 7 God helped the Israelites defeat the Philistines. Samuel set up a stone and named it “Ebeneezer,” meaning “Thus far, the Lord has helped us.” We can look back at our “Ebenezer stones,” however you may choose to remember God’s faithfulness to you, and say, “Yes, God has helped me in that situation. I’m confident that He will help me again!”

God sets a pattern for you and for me. We see this right at creation when He says to Adam, “You’ve always got me as your Friend, but I know you also need someone else. You need a helper.” God made Eve, and called her a “helpmeet,” a suitable helper. And this sets a pattern. It’s not just a pattern for a husband and wife. It is a pattern for all of us. My calling is to be a helper to you, and yours is to be a helper to me. The pattern is to help each other. 

Areas in which we help each other:

Help in ministry. When Jesus sent out His disciples in Luke 10, He sent them out in twos. How much more encouraging this is, when there are two or more of you taking part in a ministry.

Haggai and Zechariah helped each other during the reign of King Darius. Zechariah was the one with all the visions. (Zechariah 1:16). But Haggai was the practical one. He said, “Okay, God has said He wants His house rebuilt. Go up into the hills and collect the wood.” (Haggai 1:8). It is good to have a team of people where some are the visionaries, and some are the practical ones. We need both!

Helping the weaker brother or sister. Poor old Jeremiah. He must have been so grateful for the help of Ebed Melech, who gave him rags to put under his armpits when he pulled him out of the pit (Jeremiah 38:11). How lovely it is if we can go that extra mile when we help someone.

We must also be prepared to accept help. Sometimes it is easier to give help than to accept help. Exodus 18:22,23 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, says to Moses, “What are you doing? You shouldn’t be doing this alone. You’re running yourself ragged! You need to get some help.” And Moses agreed and took his advice. He got help so that he wasn’t struggling.

We also need to know when to stop helping. God doesn’t want us to be doormats. Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul.” There are some people who can suck you dry, and they need to learn to stand on their own two feet. We need discernment in these situations, and when it is right, we need the courage to say, “No, I think you can do this on your own now.”

The gift of being helpful is a spiritual gift which is listed in 1 Corinthians 12 (v28). It is a Holy Spirit gift! It is wonderful to know that when you are helping somebody, even if it is just in a small way, you are doing it through the power of the Holy Spirit, and it brings a smile to the face of the Father.

Helpfulness is part of the life of the Cross. Matthew 16:24. We need to be reminded that the Cross is the centre of our life and our ministry. When someone needs help, we are living in the power of the Cross. Each day we take up our Cross and follow Him. That means we die to self. When I see someone who needs help, I don’t think, “Oh bother, what a hopeless case. I can’t be bothered helping them.” That is living for ourselves. The Cross means that we die to self and live for other people. Let’s say each morning, “Lead me to someone who needs my help today, Lord, and I want to do it willingly, for Your sake, and for Your glory.”