In “Is Preparedness a Sin?” I have shared my opinion on questions that my wife and I, as well as some readers have come up with. I have also shared the answers that I have discerned after much thought, prayer and discussion.

Now though, we move into the scriptures that are related to preparedness. I’ll list the scripture and my interpretation of it, but it is what you think that matters. If you’re unsure about whether or not God wants you to prepare, read this section over and pray about it. Don’t just blindly take my word for it.

 

Genesis 6:21 (NIV)

“You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

God has just tasked Noah with building an arc big enough to fit two of every animal. Not only does Noah need to get the supplies to build the arc and then build it. He also has to get enough food for all of the animals and for his family.

This was a huge task in and of itself. Noah couldn’t run to Costco and buy a few bags of rice and some canned beans. He couldn’t order some freeze dried food from the net. He and his family had to grow, hunt, harvest and store all of this food.

Surly an all-powerful God could have just filled the arc with manna once it was built, but he specifically told Noah to plan ahead.

 

Genesis 41:1-32 (NIV)

…” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”…

The above is from Genesis 41:15. This is the story of Pharaoh having a dream that only Joseph is able to explain. Joseph is able to explain that there will be seven years of great abundance. From that abundance, they must store enough for the seven years of drought that will follow.

There are a couple points of interest to me here. First was; how God chose to reveal the need to store the excess. He gave a dream to Pharaoh, who had to seek counsel to find its meaning. I think that for some of us the decision to prepare isn’t a difficult one, yet for others it causes much stress. It caused stress for me, and I went looking for others who might have had some guidance and insight. This is also why I created PreparedChristian.net.

The second thing that stands out is the scope of what they were being asked to do. They had to store enough to feed an entire country including the livestock and they had seven years to do it.

I am willing to bet that there wasn’t celebrating during those seven years of surplus. I imagine they tightened some strings and cut back some, to make sure they met their goal. Sometimes living a preparedness lifestyle means we do have to cut back, even when things look like they might be okay. This is because you never know when the next drought or famine will be.

 

Exodus 12:35, 36 (NIV)

“The Israelite s did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.”

“The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.”

Here is another example of where an all-powerful God could have just told the Jews to flee and He could have provided for every need. This time, however, He told them to only ask the Egyptians for gold, silver and clothing. He provided food and water each day.

On a related note, I have thought about why He would have them ask for precious metals. One possibility is so that the Jews would have something to build the calf into a false idol later on. It could also be the metals used to cover the Ark of the Covenant. Another possible option is trading.

 

Proverbs 6:6 –11 (NLT)

“6:6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! 6:7 Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, 6:8 they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. 6:9 But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? 6:10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—6:11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.”

This is one of those verses that is so cryptic, its meaning is lost on most of us. Yeah, not so much. This verse is the “kick in the pants” of the group. It says to watch the ants (that do nothing but prepare for the future) and learn from their ways and become wise; that we should prepare like the ants do, without being told, because it is in our best interest.

 
Proverbs 21:20

“The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.”

Another verse that sums things up nicely.

 
1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV)

“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

I have mentioned that there are five basic human needs. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, they have to be met and according to Timothy 5:8 it is my responsibility to meet them.

Notice that there are no exclusions. It doesn’t say that you can be excused in times of famine, if the economy takes a downturn or if there is a blizzard.

I take this verse seriously; it is my job to provide come what may. In order to provide for the above mentioned scenarios, one must use some forethought.

I guess one could run to the grocery store right before the blizzard hits but that sounds more like a grasshopper than an ant.

 

Proverbs 27:12

“A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”

This verse is my favorite and where I got the tagline of “Being Prudent in Today’s World”. I also think that it is the most important verse related to preparedness. My wife and I have used this verse to make some very big decisions.

It says that a smart person sees danger and takes precautions now and a fool ignores the danger and suffers for it. So, to be smart, we have to know what danger is and be on the lookout for it so that we can take precautions against it.

If you’re still reading this eBook, then this verse is talking about you. A person who doesn’t see trouble on the horizon won’t spend this much time reading an eBook about whether or not you should prepare. So, congratulations, my prudent compadre!

Here is one way to use this verse; I spend a fair amount of time thinking about “what if” scenarios. Some of this is to look for potential dangers to me and my family, but some is also to think up things to write on for the site.

One potential danger that I have covered on the site, which is a possible danger every winter, is an ice storm. While I have underground power lines and gas heat, they limit the dangers, but don’t eliminate them. As precautions for an ice storm, we have more than enough food to last us, we also have a camp stove to cook it on, should the need arise.

We also have a propane heater and a couple 20lbs propane tanks. If we lost heat and power, I have even thought of how we could insulate one room in the house and have everyone camp out in it.

I looked for the danger and took precautions and in doing this, I believe I have lived out Proverbs 27:12 and 1 Timothy 5:8. We’re more prepared for a potential ice storm and if there is one, I can provide for my family.

 
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As is the case with many things in life, preparedness could be a sin. It depends on why you do it and where your heart is. God is calling some believers to preparedness, while others may seek it out on their own. Both might be able to prepare with perfect submission, others might not be able to prepare without it soon taking over. At that point they are no longer being prudent, but are consumed with the “what if’s” and the “just in cases”, giving in to fear and letting the enemy take ground.

This is not solely about prepping. It’s about anything that we put between Jesus and ourselves. Any time there is something in our lives we refuse to lay down, to turn from if the Lord asks, or simply put as more important than Him, we now choose to walk in pride and in sin.

There have been times when I wasn’t sure if I was acting out of my own flesh. Psalm 139:23 comes to mind:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”

If you’re not sure if you’re being led by your flesh, ask for the Lord to search you. Be willing to hear the answer and be listening for it.

 

Self-Reliance

There have been times in my life when I’ve found myself in a bad place, spiritually. I was living in the flesh and didn’t want to listen to the still small voice, so I didn’t give it a chance to speak.

If you close yourself off and do not give God a chance to convict you, or you know you’ve been convicted and you choose to ignore it, this is when self-reliance becomes pride. To prevent this, make Him the center of it, ask and rely on Him for guidance. I pray often to make sure His will is done, not mine; that He blesses me with wisdom to know how to prepare and keep me from reacting out of fear.

In Mark 8:1 the disciples watch as Jesus breaks the seven loaves and few small fish and feeds four thousand people. Just fourteen short verses later the disciples realize they had only brought one loaf of bread with them in the boat. They take Christ’s warning to “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod” as a complaint that they had forgotten food. Jesus then reminds them that he had already fed five thousand and later fed four thousand; that He is fully capable of feeding them.

The reason I bring this up is that it is okay to be self-reliant and provide for your family (true self-reliance is all but a myth, but that’s another story). However, pushing God aside because you don’t need Him and will do it yourself is prideful and we all know how God feels about pride.

While I’m talking about this verse, there are also those who take the verse the other way. They say that God worked miracles and provided food for so many. Yes, yes He did and He could again at any time. But let me ask you this, how many meals did those people listening to Jesus preach that day miraculously get from God in their life? My point is, we should prepare, being wary of self-reliance and leaving room for miracles, but not counting on them.

 

The Gift and Curse of Fear

There are many modern believers who think it is a sin to have any fear, but I think they’re only half right. I believe that fear is a gift given from God to keep us safe. When we let fear rule our lives it becomes a curse and we enter into sin.

We should use fear to motivate us to take action when faced with danger. When I started preparing I did so because I was afraid that in my situation, if there was even a medium sized survival situation, I could not provide for my family for very long. I could have responded other ways. I could have let the fear shut me down or turn me into an Ostrich. I could have also let it take over, going into debt to purchase things I will never use or need but only gave me a false sense of control.

In short, don’t be afraid of fear. Use it and don’t let it use you.

 

“Does storing food, water or other supplies show a lack of faith?”

For the vast majority of human history, humans have had to store food in one fashion or another, to make it through a season. The grocery store and the refrigerator are more recent options for storing food.

If it is a sin for us, was it a sin for humans that lived before the modern age?

Another question; what amount of food being stored would be considered a sin? Many people have enough food to last one to two weeks. Is that a sin? The point that I am trying to make is; is there a line that needs to be drawn and, if so, where do you draw it?

I personally don’t think there needs to be one drawn. I thank God for the food I eat, every time I eat. What does it matter if I bought the food five minutes ago or five years ago? The point is my gratitude for it.

 

How do we know that this compulsion to prepare is from God and not from us, or from satan?

Here is an acid test that you can use on any topic that you have this question on.

 

Pray and ask for wisdom and guidance

Pray for His will to be done and that He give you the wisdom to see what that is. James 1:5, 6 (NIV)

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

 

Ask for confirmation

Ask, if it is God, that He keep pushing and not relent. If it is not Him, to please cast the concern far from you. Ask for confirmation from sources outside of yourself. This eBook could be one such source. On a related note, I have seen thousands of people come to PreparedChristian.net looking for answers to preparedness and faith. I know God is stirring people.

 

Who does it bring glory to? Mathew 12:25 – 28

25. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27. And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Does it bring anyone glory? If so, whom? When applying this question to preparedness, most Prepper’s prefer to keep things quiet. If no one knows you’re preparing it doesn’t bring you glory. By being prepared there is a chance you could use your preparations to bring God gory at a later date, by helping someone in need.

Satan won’t ask you to do things that bring God glory. If there is no glory involved or, it gives God glory or, there is potential to bring God glory, it is probably safe to move forward. If it only brings you glory or could bring God shame, I, personally, would not move forward.

I have Asperger Syndrome. This makes it hard for me to “hear” from God. I bring this up because, most of the time, I get no direct answer from God. With the above test, I think you can determine if moving forward on anything is a sin or not.

My rule of thumb is that if it brings God glory or has the potential to, I move forward. If it brings me glory, but God is still glorified, I still move forward. If it only brings me glory or brings God shame, I don’t move forward.

 

Aren’t we to look to God to provide?

This is one of my favorite questions because when I asked myself the following question, I could have hit myself on the forehead and said “duh!” That question was simply, “am I looking for God to provide now?”

I answered yes, but all of my food is purchased at a grocery store. My clothes wear out and new ones are purchased at a department store.

If God is keeping your clothes from wearing out or providing you manna everyday then praise Him and keep doing what you’re doing. However if you believe all of the money you earn is His and you use it to purchase your daily needs, then He is providing for you now. If you purchase supplies to prepare for the future, He is still providing for you. Just like He provided for Egypt with the seven years of stored grain during the famine that Pharaoh dreamed of and Joseph interpreted.

Here is a quote on the subject that I really like:

“If God gives you a watch, are you honoring Him more by asking Him what time it is or by simply consulting the watch?” A.W. Tozer

You can find Part Two here.

 
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