The older I get, the more I can relate to the words of “Help!”, the 1965 hit song by The Beatles:

When I was younger so much younger than today,

I never needed anybody’s help in any way.

But now those days are gone, I’m not so self-assured.

Now I find I’ve changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody. 

Help! You know I need someone. Help!

It’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help, at any age. That’s because self-reliance (a close cousin of pride) can only go so far and last so long. The childhood declaration, “I can do it myself,” has its limits. If we need to have surgery, we obviously can’t operate on ourselves. We need a surgeon’s help. If we don’t have enough cash to buy a nice house, we need a bank to help us with a loan.

I am so thankful that so many of our friends have come to our aid in times of need. There just aren’t enough words to adequately thank the neighbor who helped by:

• Saving our company from a website disaster
• Recommending good doctors, contractors, hair stylists, travel agents, etc. 
• Collecting and storing mail and package deliveries while we traveled abroad
• Teaching us the essentials of swimming pool care
• Bringing food over
• Driving me to the hospital
• Praying for us in tough times 

This list could go on and on. We really would have been in trouble had our neighbors not lent a helping hand. They didn’t have to help; they wanted to help. Even when they may not have felt like helping, they chose to help by sacrificing their time, talents and wisdom. They demonstrated true friendship through genuine acts of kindness.

The British poet John Donne declared, “No man is an island.” Trying to do life alone is unsustainable; we truly need each other. Consider the observations of Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 – “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” 

That’s why Galatians 6:2 charges us to “carry each other’s burdens.” Those who help others are more valuable than they realize. As Charles Dickens said, “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” To be useful – and helpful – is one of the more satisfying feelings in life.

There are other great benefits to helping others. Booker T. Washington, the brilliant former slave who founded the Tuskegee Institute, reminds us that “Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” And Proverbs 11:25 says, “Generous persons will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”

So don’t be reluctant to say, “Help! I need somebody.” Better still, don’t be afraid to answer the cry for help. You’ll be blessed if you do.

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