So, in light of the 2012 world-ending issue, I have to admit I'm in kind of a quandary.
On one hand, I like to be prepared for stuff. However, if God chooses to end the world as we know it, I don't know that any amount of preparation is going to help. If you read the book of Revelation (or those Left Behind books) there's a lot of crazy stuff that kind of skirts the general preparation stuff. You can hoard all the rice, beans, water and ammo you want, but those flying armored screaming scorpions don't care how much stuff you have, or if you have an unsinkable boat, which I don't have. I'm also not convinced that fire being poured out and burning up the earth or the oceans turning to blood or four apocalyptic horsemen riding amok is something one can adequately prepare for.
Odds are, if God is coming back, your best bet is to make sure you & God are on really good terms. I think that when He brings his church home I'd like to go, ya know?
Now, the Bible also talks about some of the folks that get left behind, and that some of those cats will be operating under God's protection and will be unable to be harmed. Now, I have to admit that if my wife and daughter get all raptured up, I think it might be fun to run around down here and be under God's protection. Might it be a little like "I Am Legend", except more awesome?
I already have the gun and the dog.So - how much preparing does one do?
Tornadoes, earthquakes, blackouts, hurricanes, civil unrest - as much as you can. If I had my way, I'd have enough food, water, medical supplies, candles, etc (remember the zombie contingency plan?) for my entire family for 40 days, but I don't have the budget. I'd also like about 15,000 rounds of ammo, too - just in case.
But my day-to-day life dictates that I don't spend the money on these things, as much as I'd like to. I have to spend my money on bills and getting out of debt, because I just don't foresee a disaster or event that's gonna require it. But man....does anyone really foresee that kind of thing?
9/11 caught us all (basically) by surprise. Odds are something like that is gonna happen again, but the Average Joe won't have the specifics.
Is the world going to end in 2012? A lot of folks seem to think so, or at least concede that a lot of big, bad and cataclysmic things are going to happen. are the going to happen? I have no idea, and I don't think anybody else does either - not for sure.
Something else I've wondered about, too - I know the Bible says that nobody knows when Christ will return, and I believe that.
BUT....
Is it possible that some folks might guess correctly? I don't know, man.
So, back to my original question: how much preparing does one do?
For the end of the world - maybe not a whole lot.
I think the best thing you can be prepare for that is to make sure that your heart and soul are ready - to me that seems to be more important than food, water and ammo.
979
4 comments:
Well, practically speaking, I guess you prepare within reasonable means. What does that mean? I have no idea.
1 and moreso 2 Thessalonians were books written to people who though the end was coming. They are short - read 'em and see what Paul advised.
Spiritually speaking, we are a woefully unprepared people. I believe the church will be raptured prior to the tribulation, but I hold that belief less firmly than a lot of other things. If we are to endure the tribulation, we'll have a lot of growing up to do. Fast.
Everyone thought the world would freak out with Y2K and folks are still probably eating stored SPAM from then.
I was one of the people who very specifically knew that Y2K was going to be no big deal. However, with all the stuff culminating in December 2012, it has even me a bit skittish.
Here is a moral dilemma for you:
Say you prepare carefully and have a decent stockpile of food and water (say, 40 days worth for your immediate family) as well as the guns and ammo to defend it - what do you do when your daughter's mother and who knows how many members of her family come along asking for food and shelter?
Ok, what about when the rest of the grasshoppers in YOUR and Tony's family shows up to partake of your fore-sight and planning Mr. Ant?
Now what about your good friends and THEIR families?
Then what about your next door neighbors and THEIR families?
Then what about the HUNDREDS, or perhaps THOUSANDS that show up as word of mouth spreads that you have food, water, and guns and ammunition? You have to sleep sometime.
It could easily get out of hand very very quickly - so when and where do you draw the line?
And what does that mean, exactly? Would you shoot your neighbors who are just frantically trying to get food for their kids? What about family or close friends?
Does not do a lot of good to stockpile enough food for your immediate family to survive the (hopefully) short term chaos if you burn through it all in a day or two giving hand-outs to all those people who had just as much prior warning as everyone else but who did NOT plan ahead.
So, what do you do? If you're NOT going to make a stand and deny rations to people, what is the point of having the guns and ammo?
Likewise, what do you do, morally speaking, when the catastrophe lasts longer than even you were prepared for? Do you use your guns and ammo to forcibly obtain food for your family? Keeping in mind, all those hundreds of thousands of other people all around us in the Metroplex will be facing this same situation and making the same decisions.
I would like to answer a couple of those from Steven, at least the ones pertaining to my side...
First off, it's Toni, with an 'i'
Secondly, those individuals from my end of the family that I am still in contact with are unusually prepared, both physically and (as far as any human can actually know) spiritually. A couple of them are horders- they always have enough for 40 days and probably more.
So, Toni, where do these people live? :-)
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