“This means,” the Master continued “that when someone reaches out to you for help, you should never say ‘I pray that God will help you.’ Instead for the moment, you should become an atheist, imagine that there is no God who can help, and say ‘I will help you.’”
via i wish i could be strong without somebody there..
This quote highlights the three “levels of involvement” Christians use when someone asks for help.
- I will help you.
- I will not help you.
- I will pray for you (instead of helping you).
I know some would argue that praying for someone — asking God for a perfect resolution to the problem — is more useful than trying to solve the problem with our own hands. But I think that the person in need of assistance would see the offer to pray similarly as they’d see the offer to wish upon a star. Praying may be an important part of the process to the helper, but human involvement is the more important part of the process to the person in need. “I will help you” is the best answer.