Can A Person Help God?

Can a person do anything to help God?  Can even a wise person be helpful to him? [Job 22.2]

Even though I still don't get what all the arguing is about in Job, the statement above made by Job's friend Eliphaz is pretty intense.  And what a great question!  Can a person do anything to help God?

We've all heard (and maybe even said) that God helps those who help themselves.  However, I think that philosophy is neither correct in verse nor context of the Bible.

If, in fact, all life and sustenance come from God, then there is nothing left for us to contribute but to be grateful for His provision.  

But don't we have to work to make our own way?  Yes, indeed, we work!  However, our work should be done as an act of obedience rather than self-sufficiency!  And that is where most of us make our greatest mistake when it comes to trusting God.  Because provision is so closely attached to work, we easily lose perspective as to where life and strength ultimately come from (God) and inadvertently and consequently begin to believe our lives are our own as if we are gods unto ourselves.

It is all too easy to think that our energy comes from the food we eat - and the food we eat from the money we have - and the money we have from the work we exert - and the work we exert from the energy we have - and the energy we have from the food we eat... all the while forgetting that the very premise of life upon which this circular phenomenon occurs is absolutely nothing of our own doing!

The most blatant kind of pride on earth is the pride of man to think his life is his own.

Father, I cannot help myself.  All I can do is be obedient and thankful.