Yes, I understand how to prep, and your suggestions are good ones.
One of the main reasons I wrote the column is what Jesus said in Matthew 6. His words are what weigh on my mind and inspired me to explore this subject. People are completely missing this point and are instead falsely accusing me of judging others or “making excuses” for people who don’t prepare, none of which is true.
This was a foundational question I asked myself in writing the column: In relation to prepping, what does Jesus, the God of all creation, means by this:
Matthew 6
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Exasperating thread ping
Do you live by those scriptures. Yes or no.
Do you have a refrigerator in your home/apt? Why or why not?
This is the set of scriptures that had my kin waiting in a long line for ‘free’ MRE’s that WERE put aside by someone who thought ahead. And paid for by all of us.
I was always under the impression that this set of scriptures were directed at his disciples and meant to assauge their fears of ‘going on the road’ with him.
I can’t imagine that every Christian farmer in the past 2000 years who has sown a crop has been an unbelieving heretic, can you?
By the way. My kin took those exact scriptures to mean that they were to have NO food in their house. Zero.
They ditched their refrigerator, stove and microwave as well. And got rid of all eating and cooking utensils. Breakfast was a 9 mile drive into town to the drive thru somewhere.
He destroyed all the planted edibles so they wouldn’t be ‘tempted’ to hold it over till the next day. I’m sure the wildlife that had come to depend on those plants appreciated his newfound zeal.
Somehow when his wife tired of breastfeeding it became ‘ok’ to have cans of formula in the house. But only the individual serving ones (priced those lately?) because hey, no fridge.
The ‘upshot’ of all this is they have NO money set aside for anything. He was hurt on the job, his deductible (which they couldn’t pay) was paid for by his FIL, who did put aside stuff for a rainy day.
They have only gotten away with this level of ‘crazy’ on his working poor paycheck because his FIL *gave* them the house and 6 acres as a wedding present. The place very nearly came up at auction though for back taxes. Again, his FIL paid those. Roof needed fixing too. Guess who paid for that as well...
Their vehicles? Paid for by the FIL as well. Hard to pay a car note when you’re spending $25-$30+ a day at restaurants/drive thrus and on a working poor paycheck. The kids are on medicaid as well.
I don’t think very highly of his depending on the ‘providence of God’. Because it’s less the ‘providence of God’ than it is everyone else’s wallets...particularly his kin.
He’s had the gall to call MY dad and ask for handouts. My dad was a sharecropper’s son. And for genuinely poor kin my dad is a HUGE softy. Guess how far he got with that little line of panhandling...especially since my dad was aware that the whole family literally ate out every single meal...
That’s a passage addressing anxiety. It’s in response to the “OMG what am I gonna do?” panic. Don’t _worry_ about things, don’t fret. In context of other pro-preparedness passages, the point is: just do what needs to be done, God will provide the means & resources well within your abilities & needs.
When Christ began His ministry and gathered the disciples, He told them to forego all things in a manner you’re referring to. That was fine: He was there and actively providing for them in a very direct fashion. When He prepared to leave (crucifixion), He told them to take such things up again (purse, scrip, sword).
Obviously, if you don’t get a job and acquire food/clothing/shelter, you won’t last long. Some of the remarkably devout may get by on providence thru others, but most of us won’t.
God told Joseph to store up 7 years’ grain. He didn’t say “a bad time is coming, but don’t worry about it.”
God provided Moses et al with manna. Was pretty clear that was for a limited, albeit long, time.
The passage you quote is not anti-prepper. You acquire what you sensibly can, in preparation for reasonable (even catastrophic) contingencies, as God provides such for you.
Costco sells 50lb bags of flour and rice for $15. That’s enough calories to keep an adult going for a month (further nuances of nutrition left as an exercise for the reader). You have a job, savings, or some other income. Seems God has indeed provided for you - all you need do is drive to the local “shopper’s club / bulk” store, wheel out more food than you’ll know what to do with, and pay for it with remarkably little money! A month’s calories for less than 2 hours of minimum-wage work? a decent nutritious 30-day menu for a day’s effort? Indeed, God provides!