In view of the fact that this month is National Preparedness Month I want to briefly deviate from the single scripture format of our typical Manna Monday posts. Why you may ask? Sometimes single verses or passages do not give a good overview or provide adequate context to understand what God is teaching us through his written word. I believe that this subject is one of those areas. I found many, many arguments for preparedness using scriptural references on the internet. I also found many arguments against preparedness based on scriptures. I found many articles, blogs, and church websites discussing both sides. So where does the bible stand on being prepared? I have no intention of deciding that for you, but rather I will provide you with my thoughts and leave it to you to decide what God is leading your heart to do.
Arguments for preparedness:
“There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man spendeth it up.” (Proverbs 21:20 KJV)
This certainly seems to argue for being prepared. It clearly says here that wise people have stores of oil and treasures in their house. Seems straightforward. Let’s look at another example.
“He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.” (Proverbs 28:19)
Again this seems straightforward. Grow food and you eat. Run around chasing other things and you’ll go hungry.
Genesis 6 and 7 tells the story of Noah and there are clear directions from God to Noah to store up preparations for the coming flood.
Genesis 41 gives the example of God warning someone not even of the Jewish nation of impending disaster with a clear warning to prepare in advance. The Pharaoh of Egypt was given not one, but two warnings that famine was coming and to store up for it. Joseph provided these interpretations which caused him great favor with the Pharaoh which we will revisit in a moment. So there you go. 4 examples of preparedness from scripture and I could provide you more but in the interest of brevity let’s move on to examples against preparedness.
Arguments against preparedness:
Exodus 16 shows us that when God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and into the desert he did not have them prepare food for that time period. He provided with manna from heaven and quail for meat. Everyday except the Sabbath (which might argue FOR prepping but we’ll move on for now).
Matthew 10. Jesus gives his disciples very clear instruction to go out to preach the Kingdom of God as physically unprepared as possible. He even specifically says not to take money, scrip, or even a change of clothes. That certainly doesn’t seem to mesh with what we’ve seen so far. Hmmm….
“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided.” (Luke 12: 16-20 KJV)
Ouch! That seems like pretty clear instruction to not store up anything. This verse is in fact generally the gold standard verse that those who say we should not store up use to drive home their point. But I think there is a flaw in using that logic and what I see as a clear misinterpretation of scripture.
How it all ties together:
Remember when I mentioned context? Let’s take a little closer look at a few of these:
There are clear verses where God had people store up provisions for specific forth coming disasters. He even warned the Pharaoh (the man holding a member of his chosen people in captivity). In this instance God used the preparations of Pharaoh to bless the Israelites (who were able to travel to Egypt and purchase grain during the famine) as well as to bless Joseph whom God uniquely positioned to have favor with Pharaoh and provide for the Israelites. I don’t believe this particular story argues specifically for preparing but rather how God can use preparation to bless not only those who are prepared but those who were not.
The story in Exodus 16 seems to be a clear argument against preparing or storing up, but when you look at the broader context it becomes apparent that God had the Israelites unprepared to provide food for themselves for the express purpose of providing for them in order to build their faith. They had been untrusting of God since the moment they left Egypt and Pharaoh gave chase. It seemed that at every turn they questioned God’s ability to carry through on his promise to bring them out of Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey. God had to demonstrate his divine abilities over and over to the stubborn and fickle children of Israel. Again, this seems to not be so much an argument for or against being prepared but more a treatise on faith.
What about that passage from Luke. I mean it doesn’t get more clear that God is against preparing or storing up. Right? Again, context and the bigger picture is necessary for a true interpretation of this passage. God had apparently blessed this farmer with an abundant harvest (Luke 16). He already had barns where his food was stored. The scripture is clear about that. God doesn’t chastise him for having the barns. It doesn’t say that anywhere. Where the farmer of the parable takes a wrong turn begins in verse 18. He tore down the barns that had provided sufficient preparations for him and his family to store MORE goods. It doesn’t say he built barns to store up goods. He built LARGER barns to store up goods. That shouldn’t be a problem though, right? Joseph stored up enough grain to feed all of Egypt and other nations as well. Verse 19 is where the farmer goes awry. He decides to use all his goods for his own purposes and to “eat, drink, and be merry.” Uh oh. Has he become greedy and selfish with his blessings? Verse 20 shows us that he did indeed because God says, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee:” the farmer is going to die that night. God proceeds to ask, “then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” Good question. If God provided abundance, and he already had stores laid up in his existing barns, why become greedy with the extra blessings? Why not provide for someone else who had less or nothing at all?
That is what I believe the Bible teaches us in whole. You can store up, but don’t make those your treasures. Joseph stored up enough grain for an entire nation and then some, but he also used that to bless other peoples. The farmer did not. There will be times when God will call you to specifically lay aside more stores (Genesis 6 and 7), perhaps for a pending disaster in order to provide for you and others. There may be seasons in your life where God specifically tells you not to lay aside so that he can demonstrate his awesome power to you (Exodus 16), perhaps in a moment of weak faith to help restore you. There may be times where he doesn’t specifically call you to do either, but know that in those times if you have stores do not be greedy and allow them to become the treasure that becomes our heart. Use moments of abundance to enrich others for the glory of Christ, not yourself. Be vigilant and “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning” (Luke 12:35) so that you don’t become the farmer who held everything he was provided with for himself only. Have a great day and God bless.