Christian Prepping
Christians Who Plan And Prepare
With all the chaos and uncertainty in the United States right now, I’m noticing a huge wave of brothers and sisters desiring to batten down the hatches and get their houses prepared. And that makes perfect sense to me. None of us know what the future holds and we all have family needs that we try our best to meet. But for some of us, we feel convicted to take things a bit farther with our planning and preparing.
Christian Preppers
What Is A Christian Prepper?
Prepping, which used to be considered eccentric and nutty, has become mainstream. Even in churches. But you still won’t find it mentioned in the Bible.
Prepping (planning and carrying out those plans) takes many different forms. Some prepare by stocking their storehouses with food and equipment they feel are needed for survival. Others prepare by learning how to live off the land with minimal help from others, including municipality resources, such as our ancestors did. Some of us are a mix of both.
It is imperative to remember we are Christ-followers first, and preppers second.
Why Do We Need To Prep?
Sweet sister, as women of God and the keepers of our homes, it is our duty to meet the needs of our families. If asked, God will give us a plan of action to meet those needs. We are to do our best with the resources God provides to bring His plan to fruition.
Is Being Prepared The Same As Being A Prepper?
Some believe there is a huge difference between being prepared and being a prepper. I don’t; I think it is semantics. Let me show you why.
According to the Cambridge dictionary, a prepper is a person who believes that war or disaster will happen soon, and who learns skills and collects food and equipment to be ready for it.
According to the same online dictionary, someone who prepares is 1) a person who makes or gets something or someone ready for something that will happen in the future. 2) To expect that something will happen and be ready for it.
A disaster could be anything from a personal disaster (losing a job, illness, death of spouse or child) to a natural disaster (weather-related, war, disease). It is any major life-altering event.
See what I mean? Semantics. We plan but life happens, situations change. We re-adjust our plans. It is wise to plan and prepare for the future as much as you are able.
So whether you label it preparedness or prepping, it doesn’t matter. It is a lifestyle and a mindset. I personally don’t care for the term prepper. I feel it has gotten a bad rap over the years and immediately makes people think of a half-crazed doomsday prepper eating dandelions, locus, and honey.
Are They Right?
Although many are changing their opinion, over the years I’ve heard well-meaning brothers and sisters say that being a Christian prepper is an oxymoron because it is selfish, shows a lack of faith, and is unbiblical (three things Christians can’t stand to be called)!
Are they right? Is planning and carrying out those plans wise? Is it helpful? As Christians, is it a sin to prep? Is it possible to glorify God through prepping?
Since God’s Word is our plumb-line, let’s take a look and see if our preconceived ideas on planning and preparing line up or need to be torn down.
Is Planning and Preparing Unbiblical?
As I read my Bible, I can see where God is encouraging us to plan and prepare. Proverbs provides us with little nuggets of wisdom for everyday life so let’s look at a few verses there.
Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep — so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler and your need like an armed man.
(Proverbs 6:6-11)Better is a little with righteousness than vast revenues without justice. A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
(Proverbs 16:8-9)
The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5)
Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house.
(Proverbs 24:27)
Those verses right there? Those are the verses that spoke to me as I began to reevaluate my family’s preparedness journey. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will use them to speak to you. Or perhaps He has others that will speak to your soul.
I also noticed that in Genesis God tells Noah to prepare an ark to hold him, his family, and two of each animal. He also told Noah to stockpile food for all of them for their upcoming journey. Could God have chosen to bring them food each day like the manna he provided for the Israelites in the desert? Of course. But that isn’t always God’s plan.
Then we see in Genesis 41 that God chose Joseph to be second in charge of the land of Egypt. God let Joseph know that there would be 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of a severe famine. He instructed them to gather food for the storehouses during the 7 years of plenty, which they did to the point that Joseph had to stop counting the food because the amount was immeasurable. Could God have chosen to send a raven to feed each of His people during the famine? Or course. He is God, He can do whatever He chooses. But He had other plans.
Was it silly, selfish, or faithless for Joseph to gather in and store crop when it appeared they had it in abundance? Not at all.
There are many examples of God telling his people to prepare. He gave them detailed plans and told them how to implement His plan. It is never left up to chance or our puny human knowledge. Neither Noah nor Joseph had to obey. God wasn’t going to force them. But they did and reaped the rewards as a result of their obedience.
Is Planning and Preparing Selfish?
As Christians, we don’t want to be selfish with any of the resources God gives us. He is a kind, loving, caring, generous Father and we should live in such a way to reflect his character.
In Acts 2:44-45, we see that with an outpouring of the love they felt for God, the early Christians chose to pool their resources to help those who were less fortunate. They didn’t want anyone in their community to suffer when they could be of help. Even today, if others are in need, we are to bear good fruit by sharing what we have (Luke 3:11).
All of our blessings are from God. We are His stewards who are not to hold tightly to anything He blesses us with. If we hoard it because we are fearful of tomorrow, we are sinning (lack of faith and selfishness) and need to repent. We have to pray and use discernment and wisdom but we don’t have to withhold from those in need because we are being ruled by fear.
Does Planning and Preparing Show a Lack of Faith?
That depends.
This world is not our home. We have a general idea of how things play out and know that America will not always be the blessed, prosperous land in which we know and love. And it’s not just in America that things are changing.
How many times have you turned on the news and heard about a natural disaster or economic collapse? We don’t like to think about it but it happens. Disasters of one type or another have always been a part of our story. No amount of planning will change that.
If you think you need to plan and prepare because you can’t trust God, you are doing it for the wrong reasons and your efforts will fail. If you think you need to plan and prepare so that God can use you to bless others, that shows a discerning, wise spirit such as Joseph had.
I guess it comes down to soul searching on your part. Why do you want to prepare? What is your driving force? Bad things happen to the just and unjust (Matthew 5:45). That isn’t the point. The point is when you think about it happening where do your thoughts immediately go? Where do you turn? Is your first thought one of self-preservation? Do you turn to God or only in yourself and your resources?
God wants us to turn to Him always; in major situations and minor ones, good times and bad. He doesn’t want to be an afterthought or our last resort.
Personal Convictions
Prepping for the future might not be something you agree with or understand. I would guess that being a Christian who believes in preparedness is a matter of personal conviction. A personal conviction might not make sense to you but to the person the Holy Spirit is convicting, it makes perfect sense; for them not to obey is a sin.
Got Questions says, “If you have personal convictions on a matter, you know what you have to do. A person with personal convictions is convinced that something is true and stands on principle, regardless of the situation and regardless of the consequences.”
As I explained in my Starting a pantry stockpile post, a planning and preparing lifestyle has been the norm for my family for a long time now. However, that doesn’t mean we live off the grid, have a compound, 10 years’ worth of food and ammo, etc. That is certainly one way to be a prepper but it is not the way we feel God has called us to prep. We have a personal conviction to be prepared and not unduly burden others when life-altering situations strike. We trust God for the provisions as well as the wisdom to use them as needed. We also have a conviction to bless and share with others regardless of our circumstances.
Regardless of personal convictions, we cannot allow prepping to become our god and consume us. We must keep it in perspective. God still intends us to put others before ourselves. He still intends us to remember that He alone is our One True God. He alone is the provider of all things, our Redeemer, and our Deliverer.
It’s No Different
It’s important not to allow others to make Christian prepping into something it’s not. Preparing is no different than any other activity in your life.
It’s no different than growing a garden and canning your bounty.
It’s no different than going to the grocery every few weeks and filling your cupboard shelves.
It’s no different than going to your job instead of sitting at home waiting on God to bring a blessing to you. It’s no different than carrying health insurance.
It’s no different than preparing for retirement.
Obedience Is Key, Not Extremes
Obedience is the key to the future, not our stockpiles or our level of preparedness. As a Christian who plans and prepares, you do not have to go to extremes. But keep in mind that what is extreme for you might not be for me. We all have different situations, resources, gifts, and talents. God may be speaking to you to prepare a stockpile to meet your elderly church members’ needs. He might be directing you to add a bit extra to your cupboards each week so that you can bless the single mother next door. Don’t automatically assume you need to go to extremes. Don’t let the opinions of others direct your path.
The mind of a person plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
(Proverbs 16:9)
We have to be willing to go along with God’s plans. If you feel his nudge to create a stockpile of food or in another way prepare for your family, take it to God in prayer first. If it is not based in fear, it might be of God. Only He can clarify that for you. Years ago, God spoke to both my husband and me and gave us separate but intertwined plans for our family, which we followed the best we could. We have made mistakes and had to regroup but God has been gracious. I don’t regret our past decisions and I know that God has a plan to use everything for His glory.
Being prepared for significant life-changing events will bring you comfort but you must realize you are not in control. Only God is and only He knows the final outcome. Your obedience is the key, even if nobody else is doing it, even if nobody else understands (remember Noah?!?).
In Conclusion
Good times come and go both personally and as a nation. Our Lord gets us through things and uses them for good. Because God’s plan isn’t always to remove us from situations, we must carefully listen to Him and prepare as He directs us.
For me, being a Christian who plans and prepares has nothing to do with a lack of faith and everything to do with obedience. I fully realize there is only so much I can do and I have to trust God with the rest. This type of lifestyle is not for everyone and that is okay. God has called each of us on a different path. He has equipped us with different goals and abilities. God never does that so that we can hold what we have over others. Our blessings should never be solely for our benefit but so that we can be a blessing to others.
He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.
(Proverbs 16:20)
Every day we are required to make decisions that will affect our future. We need to use our Bible as our compass so that we keep Jesus as our true north. For a time we can put off making certain decisions but the time will come that we must get off the fence and take a stand one way or the other. When you reach that point, you have to determine your personal conviction about the subject. I pray this post brings you clarity.
If you have been on the fence about this subject, I encourage you to turn to God’s Word as your plumb line. Whether you want to label it as being a Christian prepper or a Christian who plans and prepares, let the Holy Spirit be your guide in this just as in all areas of your life. He knows the gifts and abilities you have been given. He knows the needs of those around you. He knows the future.
