Isaiah 37:30
"And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof."
Helping someone get established is always a worthy thing to do. One of the mistakes many people make when helping someone is that they don't cut the apron strings which results in the person never establishing themselves on their own. The purpose of help is not to have them constantly run back to their source for the rest of their lives, but it is to get their feet on solid ground so they can make it on their own.
When God helped Judah reestablish themselves after facing judgment, He told them that He would eventually cut the apron strings. You can see from the verse above that God helped them in the beginning, but eventually they had to step up and do some things on their own. In this verse, God shows principles He uses to help people, and these principles will be good for everyone to follow when helping others.
First, the purpose of helping someone is not so they will rely upon you forever. Whenever you start helping someone, you must decide how long you are going to help them. You will notice that God put a timeline on how long He would help Judah. God knew that this timeline was not just for Him, but it was for Judah as well. They needed to know that this help was not going to last forever. Whenever you decide to help someone, they need to know that the help will eventually stop. They need to know that you expect them to eventually be able to take care of themselves. Knowing this upfront will not only help them to start doing something immediately, but it will also help you to have a point when you cut the apron strings.
Second, the one receiving the help is to work from the beginning. You will notice in the verse above that though God was going to make the crops grow, the people of Judah still had to care for those crops. God was not going to weed the garden. He was not going to water the garden. God wanted them to get busy from the beginning.
Just because you are going to help someone doesn't mean that they should not do anything. God's Word still specifies that a person should work before they eat. Parents, don't make the grave mistake of doing everything for your children. They need to be sure to do some things themselves. You may help them, but they still need to have some labor involved in what they get. Help does not mean that they can be lazy, but it's purpose is simply to help them get established. The whole purpose of the help is to give you time to train them how to do things on their own. Whether it's a business, church or a person helping someone, use the helping time to train them to step out on their own.
Third, when it's time to cut the apron strings then cut them. This is one of the hardest things for many to do. Because they have so much involved in helping someone, they want to continue to help them, but you are not doing them a favor by keeping the apron strings attached. It is natural for the apron strings to be cut. God intended for everyone to make it on their own. Don't think it's cold or not compassionate to cut the apron strings. It's more compassionate to cut those strings because that way they will do it on their own.
There is nothing wrong with helping people. In fact, I believe it's right to help people get started, but the help must end at some point. Always remember that the purpose of helping someone is to teach them to do things on their own. You will receive great satisfaction from your help when you see them doing what you trained them to do while you helped them. This is a natural process, so don't be afraid to cut the apron strings.