Fooled Me! These 6 Phrases Aren’t ACTUALLY in the Bible

The Bible is a long book. Across its many pages, in almost every book, one can find words of assurance or quick wisdom such as in Proverbs. Because it’s so difficult for one person to remember every word they read, a lot of common modern wisdom is attributed to the Bible that so heavily influenced our culture. Keep reading for six proverbs you thought were in the Bible, but actually cannot be found in Scripture!

God helps those who help themselves.

The idea that God helps those who help themselves come down to us from various aphorisms both ancient and modern, and not one of them is God’s Word. The modern phrasing comes form Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac of 1736. As a deist, Franklin didn’t see God as active in the daily lives of men, so you were without hope if you couldn’t do it yourself. A more ancient source lies in ancient Greece, where Aesop rendered his famous fables:

“A wagoner was once driving a heavy load along a very muddy way. At last he came to a part of the road where the wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the deeper sank the wheels. So the Waggoner threw down his whip, and knelt down and prayed to Hercules the Strong. ‘O Hercules, help me in this my hour of distress,’ quoth he. But Hercules appeared to him, and said:

‘Tut, man, don’t sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel.’

THE GODS HELP THEM THAT HELP THEMSELVES.”