Do You Think Christians Should Be Preppers?

My devotions/testimonies are almost always derived from encounters that I experience as a Christian. Obviously, this one concerns being prepared or “prepping”. One of the accusations I hear from Christians and non-Christians is: “You are showing a lack of faith that God will provide for you.”

It Sounds Like My Faith Could Be Lacking

There is a passage in the Bible that tells me to not worry about tomorrow. It’s found in Matthew 6: 25 and it goes like this: “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?

I have heard this in many sermons and it grabs my attention every time. If my mind should be drifting a bit (which is extremely rare) that passage immediately snaps me back to reality. I begin to wonder, do other Christians not prepare for hard times? Should I not even have a storage pantry?

And then, verse 26 goes on to add: 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?

The Zombie Apocolypse

So, then I begin to panic a little bit. It’s probably because, for years I have been a “prepper” which means I collect, store, and put up supplies for any and all sorts of disasters that might befall me or my family. When someone would ask about these activities, I would sometimes, with “tongue in cheek” reply: Well, I am preparing for the Zombie Apocolypse. But seriously, as a family, we have been through some very tough times. There were no Zombies around but it seemed like an apocalypse at the time. So, we learned to prepare for hard times during good times. You cannot wait until an apocalypse strikes and then try to prepare. It’s just too late. I honestly do not believe God expects Christians to just trust and have faith that food, clothing, shelter, and supplies will simply appear as needed if we are capable of providing them for ourselves.

Instruction and Reproof From His Word

Just like many other Biblical things I read or hear preached; I sometimes question them. If it does not fit with the way I understand other scripture I want to find out why? One of the many things I gleaned from Bible class is: There is nothing wrong with questioning scripture when the intent is gaining Biblical knowledge. Questioning the Bible is a healthy practice. It turns us to God in order to grow in our understanding. Sometimes because of the questioning, He reveals the answer to me but sometimes I just have to release my desperate need for an immediate answer and choose to just fully trust God. Both of these are good things.

2 Timothy says: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

Thankfully, there is plenty of scripture to support my habit of preparing for hard times. But what I also found was: that our preparations should not be entirely focused on earthly things, they should be focused on Heavenly things. But, the keyword here is “focused”. If we put our own needs ahead of God, then preparing, storing, saving, or what I call, “prepping” would be wrong. On the other hand, supporting and keeping yourself and your family safe and well is using the common sense that God gave us. It’s just that God should be first in our lives before ALL other issues.

The Ultimate Prepper

Carpentry is in my DNA. That’s probably why I found the story of Noah so fascinating. Not only was Noah an incredible carpenter (aided by inspired blueprints) Noah was probably the greatest prepper of all time. In addition to building the ark to prepare for the coming storm, he had to prepare long-term food storage and goods for thousands of animals and his family as well. In Genesis 6:21 God tells Noah:  “And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee, and it shall be for food for thee, and for them”. (What massive prepper undertaking!!)

Throughout Biblical history, man has stored grain, seed, and food for himself as well as for livestock. Not storing food would be neglecting the animals that God placed in our care as well as neglecting ourselves and our family. It would be foolish for a man to store food for his animals but not for himself.

Ants vs Sloths

Consider Proverbs 6:6-8 which says: Go to the ant thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise, which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer and gathereth her food in the harvest.

In Hebrew, sluggard can mean sloth, a lazy person who, unlike the ant, does not prepare for themselves. In studying my original thoughts about Mathew 8:25 (where it says not to worry for tomorrow or my life) the King James translation is a bit harsh when Jesus, talking to his disciples says, “take no thought for your life”, in Hebrew the word used for that means to not be anxious or be anxiously careful. I have Learned from incredibly inspired and (Christian educated teachers) to check translations when in doubt. So, Jesus seems (to me) to be telling his disciples to keep their priorities in order.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 says: Prove all things, hold fast that which is good.

A Christian Prepper Is A Good Thing

During emergencies, storms, disasters, or just plain hard times, Christian preppers can be a blessing to others, providing food, assistance, supplies, or just helpful information. And doing so in such a way that shines the light of Jesus and gives all glory to God.

So the answer to the question: “should Christians be preppers is a resounding yes!” However we should, above all else, prepare for an eternity with our Lord, and only then should we prepare like the “ANT” for our time here on earth.