“…he’s a prepper, too!” You may recognize that play on an old Dr. Pepper jingle. Wikipedia defines prepper as someone who prepares for changes in normal circumstances. Prepping is wise; it’s a matter of stewardship. All Believers are preppers: by accepting Jesus as their Savior, they stockpile an abundance of grace (Rom. 5:17). Whenever the Rapture comes, they have their ticket to ride. And, if the Lord tarries, they’re prepared with their Pearly Gates pass.
The fellow in the cartoon below would agree with Marcus Aurelius that “The only wealth you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.”
(Believers are prepared with their Pearly Gates free pass.)
In November, the National Research Council (NRC) revealed that the U.S. power grid, spread across hundreds of miles, is vulnerable to terrorist attacks that could cause months of blackouts. Moreover, much of it is unguarded and lacking sensors to limit outages from cascading. “We could easily be without power across a multistate region for many weeks or months, because we don’t have many spare transformers,” says M. Granger Morgan, engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University and chairman of the NRC committee that wrote the report.
Our federal government was the ultimate prepper during the Cold War. Do you believe 1) the economy will soon collapse in a cascade of debt? 2) Iran is developing an electromagnetic pulse weapon that could wipe out our power, communication, and transportation grids? or 3) a grid-destroying, electromagnetic pulse from a solar flare is a concern? Whatever your answers, John Hoopes, a University of Kansas anthropologist and archaeologist, deems it prudent to prepare for storms and power outages.
Hurricane Sandy vindicated northeastern preppers who lost power, water, and access to grocery stores. When those incredible winds knocked out my Newark, New Jersey hotel’s power on October 29, the two-AA-battery flashlight that I travel with came in super-handy. Darkness restricted most guests to their rooms, but I was able to navigate my way to the frigid lobby—where electric doors were braced open—and offer blankets to the security guard. A prepper can opt to be his brother’s keeper and share the Good News about prepping for Judgment Day.
Once your soul is ready for eternity, it makes sense to prepare your household for three days (if not three weeks) of relative independence from society. You don’t have to be “out there” to plan for a rainy day that could blossom into a week or more. Speaking of which, please consider attending the Future Congress 2 conference described on page 36. Even if you just subscribe to their online lessons and shelve the majority of what they teach, the portion that you implement could be lifesaving.