Matthew 6:25-34
25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Luke 12:22-34
22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.
23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?
27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,[b] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
You can see that in Matthew, the message focuses on what and why, where Luke takes it a step further by adding the how. We worry about things like war or famine because we live in peace or plenty. Our treasures are stored here, when we should be focusing on the hereafter.
From the prepping peddlers to the con artists like CSRQ and most world governments, the focus is on the now. It keeps you in the spiral and doom. Feeding you black pills to sell you a product. While the former may have good intentions (and I know a few who definitely do), the latter are very sinister. Pushing you to be afraid so your judgement is comprimised, and then undermining the very God who created you. The con artists want you to trust in them rather than God. And while the preppers may have good intentions, there are risks when they push products and resources that capitalize on fear. That comes down to how they market more than anything, but if you are prepping because you don't trust God, then it doesn't matter the reasoning behind the seller because in the end you need to have your heart right.
The problem often comes down to the fear though. Legitimate fear does exist, and you can't sit around doing nothing and just expect everything to work out. That's why there is value in the preppers. If you are leaning on your Heavenly Father and trusting him, then he will calm your fear and help you to discern the correct actions to take. How to prep, when to prep and who is just conning you.
I go back to these passages a lot. They help me get through my worries, which I do often. Fear isn't healthy, and when you're afraid your judgement is impared. Trust God, and he'll take care of you. I'm not telling you to sit back and do nothing. It's important to know that Jesus specifically directs us to follow God and to act. The trust, and even waiting on The Lord, is active, not passive. Like the man who drowned in the flood, if God sends a boat, get on the damn boat.
