Today, many families are preparing for what they fear is a pending doomsday scenario. It seems that everywhere you turn, there is a new warning about a cataclysmic event that will thrust us back into a primitive society and change our lives forever. News media and conspiracy mongers are churning-up their fear stories, and record numbers of people are tuning-in to hear the latest discouraging report.
It sure seems like we can’t get enough of the news of pending disasters. You would think we were passing a car-wreck on the highway and frantically turning our heads to see what we might view in the carnage. Are we so fixated on disaster and chaos that we get drawn-in by the very possibility that we just might be involved in some tragedy of massive proportions?
When you really think about it, our culture has been well-conditioned to expect and react to fear and tragedy. In fact, our society feeds on disaster and pays handsomely to be entertained with gore, horror, and violence. Hollywood knows our nature, and continues to crank-out disturbing films because they profit from our appetite for being frightened and disgusted with images of pain and suffering.
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I certainly don’t believe that everyone has a desire to dwell on the sufferings of others, but we can’t ignore that marketing research shows that tragedy increases viewership. With that being the case, it certainly stands to reason that media outlets have a major opportunity to ramp-up the fear tones and cash-in on the gloom reports and conspiracies.
A while back I wrote an article called “Doomsday Survival, or Preparation Call“. The gist of that article is generally about the reaction (and over-reaction) of fear that has driven the preparedness movement. I know I get on a soapbox, but I just get so disappointed in seeing and hearing about so many families rushing-about preparing for the pending doomsday scenario. People are hoarding food and supplies, booby-trapping their land, buying every weapon they can find, and even purchasing underground bunkers to survive-in when this cataclysmic disaster occurs.
Now, certainly I believe we need to be in preparation. I don’t need to watch the news to know that there are difficulties ahead that we need to prepare for. I can’t even get a weather forecast that is accurate, why should I expect for a minute that CNN will give me any reasonable information to help me prepare my family?
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The concern I have is, there are a lot of people yelling “fire” in a crowded area. People are being trampled and hurt because some over-dramatic people are screaming fear and pain. It’s fueling the panic, and people are being hurt.
I’ve been preaching the need for preparedness for a long time. In fact, I felt a “call” to prepare over 25 years ago. The preparedness call I felt, was not about fear and suffering. It was not about huddling in my lookout tower and waiting with my gun to shoot my neighbor who was coming to me for help. The preparation call I received was about getting my family ready, so we would not be in panic when things get a bit difficult – and will be able to help others. My preparation call was about getting ready, spiritually, emotionally, financially, and physically. Getting prepared was never a reaction to fear, but being ready so we could react with calm.
Here is the thing for me… a few years back we stored a lot of supplies and thought we were ready for the big catastrophic doomsday show. I mean, I thought… bring it on, because we have extra pop-tarts if the grid goes down. How naive, and silly to assume we were “prepared” for disaster because we had a few hundred pounds of dry goods. Granted we were better prepared than most, but emotionally… I imagine if the power was off for two days there would have been intense wailing and gnashing of teeth!
The fact is, many people today are storing some food and water, and have candles at-the-ready. They assume they are well-prepared because they have a month’s supply of food in the basement.
Even the most avid “prepper” assumes they are ready. They may have six-months of supplies, and can shoot a deer at 150 yards, but… I really wonder if they are truly prepared. Are they ready to really endure the disruption of life as we know it?
I’ve thought often about this and wonder how we might all react to overwhelming tragedy. Will we bond together and help each other overcome the difficulty, or will we do like many preppers are planning – hide in the hills and expect to shoot the first person who crosses our aim.
How will our families survive, if a spouse is overwhelmed with the intense shock of the situation and just can not cope with the situation? Are we so tough that we assume our family will all just hold hands and laugh while eating our ready meals? A lot of the families I know can’t even sit together for thirty minutes, so I doubt they will be ready to huddle around a candle and tell stories.
So, are we preparing for the emotional shock that might come from a massive catastrophe? Are we preparing to turn family and friends away because we don’t have enough food for our long-term survival, if we feed them?
If my heart becomes so hardened during perilous times that I am capable of turning-away families who need food or help, then I really don’t want to prepare. What kind of life is left for us, if we ignore the hurting people inside our community simply because they were too naive or lazy to get ready?
I realize many will disagree, and that’s fine. I certainly do not have a moral badge that gives me any authority to pass judgement. The point I’m trying to make is… today (before a tragedy hits) I can not see me turning away someone who comes to me for help.
So, unfortunately, I think we have a long way to go before we are truly prepared. In my humble view, there is far too much emphasis on loading guns and stashing grub. For s0me, that’s their ultimate strategy – survival at all cost. That’s fine, and certainly important. But… if we lose our moral values and conscience in being open to helping our neighbors – what will our society look like post-doomsday?
Bottom line in my rant ….
Get Prepared – but do not prepare because you are afraid. Prepare emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Prepare now to answer the question… what will I do when my neighbor comes to me for help?
Seek God, and His peace. One of my favorite passages of Scripture says:
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
