Many believe that the current world is not going to remain as it is today. Be it political or racial unrest or even the increase of natural disasters, a subculture of people are preparing for apocalyptic conditions. “Preppers”, as they are called, stockpile food, survival gear and even construction of secure facilities to safeguard against what they perceive as tumultuous times ahead.
A survey taken in 2017 on finder.com lists the following results, “More than 160 million American adults (65.45%) are estimated to have either recently purchased survival gear or, interestingly, are already in possession of survival gear because they always keep them on hand. The remaining 85 million (34.55%) are not preparing for the end of the world as we know it. Of those who report prepping, 36.35% spent up to $400 on survival kits in the past 12 months.”
This “prepping” has become more than safeguarding from a local disaster, it has become a multibillion-dollar business. Currently, you can go to your local Costco and buy a $6000 1-year food supply pallet for a family of four. An article in Marketwatch.com states, “Preppers shell out impressive cash in the name of survival. One prepper, Bob McDevitt of Reno, Nv., told Moneyish that he’s spent between $150,000 and $200,000 stocking up on supplies, including two years’ worth of medical equipment, food, and water. He now lives full-time in an RV.”
While there is nothing wrong in being prepared for natural disasters, we must understand that there is no escape from the judgment that is going to come upon this earth. “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
This “prepping” mindset can easily overtake and consume our time and focus. The Jews of Christ’s time fell into this trap with their reliance on the physical instead of the spiritual laws. Christ stated, “‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone’” (Matthew 23:23).
We must be “preppers” but not in a physical sense. Our actions and efforts must build up stores of spiritual fruit, not the foodstuffs that are perishing. Christ gave us advice on the kind of daily focus we must strive toward, “‘Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods’” (Matthew 24:44,46-47).
For those who humble themselves before God, we know that there will be an escape from trials and tribulations. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
God kept Noah and his family alive as the world was destroyed around them and will likewise guide us through the coming judgment on this world if we keep our focus on satisfying His Will.
