Our Christian Duty to our Fellow Man
For many Christians their responsibilities to their fellow men weight heavy in their minds and the vision of a friend or neighbor coming to them for help with a staving child is a nightmare that they fear.
I have discussed this subject at length with fellow ‘preppers’ on various online preparedness groups that I frequent to and I have come to the conclusion that there is no ‘one size fits all’ answer.
For almost every scripture one quotes as to it being our Christian duty to do all we can to help our fellow man, one may quote another that distains the slothful and the ill-prepared.
In the end I believe it is up to each of us and the circumstances as to what and how much action we take. For a childless couple to give a neighbor a couple cans of powdered milk during a blizzard is not the same as a couple with children doing the same thing after an EMP attack.
To me the order of things should be God, my family and then my fellow man. I should never do
anything that jeopardizes the relationship that come before.
As for me to ease my conscience and hopefully meet my duty as a Christian my own plan is to put away an extra 10% of ‘preps’ to use as tithe towards helping my fellows in an emergency. To me by setting aside that which God ask in tribute and then distribute it to those in need I have meet God’s covenants and yet have not place my family in need or want.
I will add a warning to this solution and that is for you to be careful as to how you distribute this aid. In these days in which so many seem to deem that it is their ‘right’ to have their needs provided to them by others, the knowledge that you have prepared and have stores of food and goods could quickly cause others to ‘demand’ that you share.
When possible I urge you go through a trusted third-party to donate your extra stocks, your church or an organization such as the Salvation Army are two good choices. But try to remain anonymous with your assistance, for desperate times drive many to desperate deeds. There is a quote from one of my all time favorite TV shows Deep Space Nine which explains this so very well:
1 Timothy 5:8 says:
If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
You should never commit an act of charity that in turns places your family’s safety in jeopardy.
In the end, that’s the thing, right?
Putting your own in danger is a bad, bad thing.
I’m still selfish enough to protect my own beyond the unprepared neighbors and their broods. My heart will break, but wouldn’t be as broken knowing I starved my family to save someone else, who did nothing to prepare for the future & looked to me for a bailout.
And further selfish knowing I don’t share our preparedness info with anyone...so hopefully this won’t be a problem on down the line...