Posted on 09/23/2014 6:13:35 AM PDT by WXRGina
Yes.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
It bluntly states that our mission is to look after those who can not help themselves. You note that he does not say that God is not taking care of them, He is, by sending you.
God expects you to do your part. He will fill in the blanks.
The admonishment to store up in the 7 years of good times, in preparation for the 7 years of bad times is pretty clear.
That was one example of the Lord working in Joseph's (and therefore Israel's) life. I do not believe that is the Lord instructing all of us to hoard seven years' worth of provisions. Nowhere else in the Bible does God tell anyone but Joseph to do that.
....The Lord knows what’s coming, and He knows what we will need. He will give Christians the things we need when we need them. I’m not advocating lying down and “doing nothing,” because I don’t believe prepping is a bad thing, but we must keep it in perspective. While prepping can be a great help in certain situations, it is not what saves us or takes care of us. Only the Lord does that, and while we may choose to be preppers, as Christians, we must always keep our focus on Him.
After everything you said to knock it, I wasn't expecting the conclusion to say "I don't believe prepping is a bad thing".
Yes, but...
We must be very, very careful not to allow our preparations supplant our trust in the Lord’s protection. The Lord has made it plain that, as He has His eye on the sparrow, so He has His eye on us and is aware of our every need.
It is perfectly acceptable and wise to prep, as long as we do not place our faith in these made-made material things.
It’s impossible to help others if you and your family are destitute and struggling to survive.
Only by taking care of your family first are you able to help others.
That’s because I’m NOT knocking prepping. This is the hard point—the need to keep it in perspective, and knowing where the line is.
That article reminds me of the people who make the comment that money is the root of all evil. A little bit of a twist of scripture goes a long way with some. I have followed my grandparents example of “putting up” enough until next years harvest. It’s what has been done since Bible times. Today they would call that “prepping”. Not once does scripture in any way denegrate those who provided for their families with extra provisions to help those who are in need. Of course we don’t put our faith in those goods and it’s the “love of money” that leads to sin. If “prepping” is somehow un-Biblical then Joseph sure made a mistake by storing up for the lean years.
It is very hard for me to give someone shelter when I am sleeping on the streets myself.
That is one complex question. As a human being, I want to take care of my own and defend my family and as a Christian, I do not see any scripture that would instruct otherwise.
But I do see our Saviour instructing us to love our enemy, feed the poor and take care of widows and orphans. God shows us in scripture that our neighbor is not necessarily the people we expect or even like.
And in our faith history, we see the Martyrs that went to the cross, were burned at the stake and went to the lions rather than reject the Christ they followed rather than take up arms and fight the ungodly.
I am not a pacifist, but these facts do trouble me.
Joseph is mentioned in the column, as is Noah. Those were peculiar situations the Lord initiated.
This column is not about the normal, practical storing up you mention. I’m talking about the doomsday preppers of today—the “hardcore” preppers.
My wife is an organized person. She has a couple of months worth of food in the pantry just because that is the way she was raised. But ultimately... I'm probably not interested in living through the "mad max" world of the apocalypse.
We have an eternity with God. Why would a few years of surviving the apocalypse be so important to us?
That's just my take on it...
So then tell me. If one has provisions for the next full year “put up” considered a “hardcore” prepper in your scenario?
We prep in many ways in our life to ensure we survive. These “ways” DO NOT include food, water, weapons and ammo.
How about...auto/health/life insurance, retirement accounts, medical/dental care in general (annual physicals, dental exams, cholesterol meds)...heck, even college education/tech school diplomas.
Many of us have chosen a harder path by making use of hard work and the resources available to us in an effort to give us a longer, better life.
Why would storing up food and other supplies be any different?
I think some preppers prep to survive here. They're willing to kill and fight off the "hoards" of people when society falls.
Doomsday scenarios are something almost none of us could be properly prepared for. Practical prepping is not doomsday prepping. I'm not trying to "split hairs" here. I'm honestly asking questions that I also struggle with. Not everyone is able to even put up many provisions, like the kind you mention, due to lack of space and money.
Prepare for your family but put all your trust in the Lord, don't let things of this world dominate you.
“We must be very, very careful not to allow our preparations supplant our trust in the Lord’s protection.”
Old joke: A man is in a flood. He denies help from a neighbor driving out of the area before the flood, a boat when the flood comes, and a helicopter when the floods are raging. He then dies. God asks why he didn’t save himself. The man says he trusted in the Lord to help him. God says he did help; he sent a neighbor, a boat, and a helicopter.
Prepping to the hilt is NOT denying God’s help, it is taking full advantage of his wisdom to know to prep and his bounty of Earth to do so.
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