Several of you humorously referred to last week’s edition of Doomsday Procrastinator as the “Sermon in the Bunker.” While I certainly do not have the gift or inclination to preach to you, I hope that my convictions and message resonated with some of those reading. The closing tip of the week, as you may recall, was to read the “Sermon on the Mount” from Matthew. This is a passage that I am so inspired by that I have a tattoo reference to it around my left wrist. At least a few of you took me up on the tip, and I received some great feedback this week.
A question that was posed to me by a couple different people is one that I would like to take the time to address in today's edition. I feel like there is an important distinction that we can make this week that I have likely failed to make thus far in this series. The most common question I received after last week was: how do we reconcile faith in God’s providence and protection of His children with the practice of prepping for doomsday?
This is a great question and a worthy topic for our consideration this week. Indulge me while I begin my response with a classic modern-day parable that you have probably heard before. A man of great faith was on top of a roof during a great flood. A neighbor comes by in a boat and says, "Get in! Get in!" The man of great faith replies, "No. I have faith in God. He will grant me a miracle." Later, the water is up to his waist and another boat comes by and the people on board tell him to get in. He responds that he has faith in God and God will give him a miracle. With the water at his chest, another boat comes to rescue him, but he turns down the offer again because "God will grant him a miracle." With the water now at his chin, a helicopter throws down a ladder and they tell him to get in. Mumbling with the water in his mouth, the man of great faith again turns down the request to help. Inevitably, the water gets too high, he tires from swimming, and slips under the surface and drowns. The man arrives at the gates of Heaven with broken faith and says to Peter, “I thought God would grant me a miracle, and I have been let down." Saint Peter chuckles and responds, "I don't know what you're complaining about. We sent you three boats and a helicopter."
Okay, maybe that was more of a classic pulpit joke than a modern-day parable, but it serves to illustrate the point I hope to make this week. The providence and protection of God can often arrive in modern packaging. God has given you the strength and wisdom today to find this website and read these words. God has given us amazing minds to study the past, to analyze and share current events, and to make assessments and assumptions on what the future holds for ourselves, our families, our communities, our nation, and our world. With the wealth of knowledge that is at your fingertips in our modern age, the fault is yours if you choose not to employ the gifts that God has given you to the best of your ability.
There is nothing contradictory about having faith in God’s will being done in your life and our world at large while also taking wise precautions to protect your loved ones in the event of emergency. The Bible teaches many times about the importance of being good stewards, of working hard, of being vigilant, and of bringing up the next generation to be even greater than our own. All of these virtues can be seen as clear motivation to practice survival prepping in your home and family, but there is one motivation that is all-too-common and that is unmistakably sinful and contradictory to faith in almighty God. That motivation is worry.
Again, I am no preacher, and I never intend for this space to become a weekly religious series, but the question raised by some this week is a very valid one. For those that practice doomsday prepping – and often become consumed by it – out of a sense of true worry, there is a clear disconnect from the faith that God intends for us to have in Him. This may come across as harsh, but the scriptures plainly support this conclusion. Not to become a broken record, but let us go back to that whole “Sermon on the Mount” thing again, shall we?
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)
Hmm…What to make of this? Was Jesus promoting the carefree lifestyle of a Christian entitlement culture? I do not think so. The focus here is on the useless and sinful nature of worrying. What do you accomplish by worrying? Can you make yourself live longer or grow taller by worrying about it? Jesus correlates those that spend their time worrying to “pagans” and people of “little faith.” Those are not descriptions that you will want connected to your name when you face God’s judgment one day. If worry is a cornerstone of your life – or if it is the cornerstone of your prepping – then God has a clear message for you here. Stop. It accomplishes nothing and supposes that your own mental activities can be more effective than God’s will.
But wait…Have I not just made an airtight case against doomsday prepping altogether? Look at those final words, right? “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” It could certainly be taken at first glimpse as a direction to seize the day and pay no mind to what lies around the corner. That would be an incorrect assessment, in my opinion, though. Worry is the foe here, not common sense, sound reason, and good stewardship. If you are prepping out of dizzying fear and spending your time fretting over how many barrels of rice you have in the cellar, your motivations are wrong.
We need look no further than the man mentioned in this passage above – Solomon. The temple that Solomon built was in large part accomplished through the preparations of his father, David. If David had not heeded the direction of God to make the necessary sacrifices and plans long in advance, the temple that Solomon built may never have been realized. Allow me to throw a couple more verses at you before I go.
“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer” (Proverbs 30:24-25)
“Extremely wise”…Those are the words used to describe the ant that makes use of the seemingly small strength God has given them to store up during the bountiful summer the food they need to survive in the winter. Ants do not worry about the situation, but they do put effort and energy into preparing for the future as best they can. That is extremely wise, and that is a model that we should follow in our personal pursuits of prepping.
Examine your heart and determine what the true motivation is for your prepping. If it is worry and anxiety, acknowledge it, confess it to God, and move past it. Sensible prepping is wisdom in action, and can be used to bring glory to God and safety and security to the family. Teach your children as you prep by showing them the valuable lessons available to them. The motivation for prepping should be your love for your family and fellow man. The more prepared you are, the better you can assist them and ensure their safety in an otherwise unsafe situation. God gave you the knowledge and strength today to use in the most productive way possible – including securing your family’s future health and safety. Just like those ants in Proverbs.
I hope that I have addressed the question we posed at the beginning – albeit in a longer manner than intended. Doomsday prepping does not have to find itself at odds with faith in God’s provision for His people, but if we allow worry to consume us and become our true motivation, it can. As with all things, you must remain vigilant of the workings of your heart, mind, and soul. Place God at the center, and allow Him to direct your steps, and you will find that balancing point between obsessively prepping over worries and living a carefree (and careless) lifestyle with no eye toward the future.
#DoomsDelay Tip of the Week
It worked last week, so I am going to try it again. Go read as much of the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament of the Bible as you can this week. Not only will you find some great tips for having the correct prepping mindset, you will find countless sayings and words of wisdom that are as practical today as they were on the day they were written.
It worked last week, so I am going to try it again. Go read as much of the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament of the Bible as you can this week. Not only will you find some great tips for having the correct prepping mindset, you will find countless sayings and words of wisdom that are as practical today as they were on the day they were written.
