Study Survival Skills
In the first century, because of the persecution by Saul the Christians were scattered. At the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus had warned His followers and they fled before the destruction. Elijah had to hide in the wilderness for a while and was miraculously cared for by God. If a similar situation occurred where would you go and what would you do? We can’t expect the miraculous, though we may pray for God’s providence. However, God is more concerned with our spiritual lives than our physical lives. Hebrews 11:35-38 speaks of the righteous: “. . . and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: {36} And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: {37} They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; {38} (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” Notice that some of these godly people not only suffered, but also died. We tend to tell our children the stories where everything worked out for good in the end, but we shy away from the stories with a happy ending only in the after-life, those who did not accept deliverance so that they might obtain a better resurrection.
The fact is we need to realize that God is not always going to protect us from harm, even death. We need to consider the possibility that we too might be outcasts, destitute, afflicted, wandering in the wilderness one day. It is hard for us to imagine what that would be like. We are so accustomed to buying any food we want at the store from all over the world, turning on the tap and having water, being able to swipe a card to pay for what we want, driving wherever we want whenever we want, living where we want, working where we want if we are capable of doing the job. What would we do if we became pariahs? What if believing the Bible caused us to lose a job? Remember the Mozilla CEO who lost his job because six years ago he gave some money to support marriage as it is defined by the Bible? What if you had to register like the Jews in Nazi Germany? What if your property was confiscated because you were a Christian? What if you lost your social security, Medicare, or other sources of income or benefits because you were a Christian like those in India? What would you do?
While it is essential that we always trust God, He expects us to do more than sit around waiting for Him to do everything for us. I hope we are not doing that now, and we certainly shouldn’t when things go bad. It may sound extreme, but I believe it would be good for us to learn some survival skills. If the time comes that we or our children are the ones wandering in deserts, and mountains and dens and caves of the earth, wouldn’t it be good to know how to survive. I am not saying we have to try to put Bear Grylls (Man Vs. Wild) out of business, but that knowing how to hunt, fish, live off the land, and grow food is not a bad thing and could be a good thing in a time of turmoil or persecution. For many it has been at least 2-3 generations from the time that their family did those things in a real way.
Christians are not to be cowards, but there is an advantage to living to fight another day. How do you suppose the early Christians responded to Saul hunting them or the Roman government later? I don’t read about many that came up and said, “Hey, I am a Christian arrest me.” We read in Acts 8 that the church was scattered because of the persecution by Saul. I don’t think they filled out change of address forms at the Post Office and called to get their Dish moved or loaded everything on a U-haul. More likely some of them left businesses, land, houses, etc. and ran for their lives. Sometimes maybe even sneaking away in the middle of the night like Paul when he was let down out of the window in the wall of the city. Was that cowardly? Of course as they ran they told others about Jesus and His gospel, they were devoted and dedicated to Christ, but wanted to continue living to serve Him better. Many who were captured were unflinching as they faced death like Stephen, but some did give in as Paul tells us in Acts 26:11. We may have to flee with our families, or our children may have to flee with theirs. Wouldn’t it be wise to teach them how to do it?
Some might view this as fearmongering, but I prefer to think of the Boy Scout motto “be prepared”. Survival skills could come in handy if there is a storm that knocks out power for a long time, or if you got lost on a hike, or stranded on the road. It would serve you better than knowing the story line of whatever hit TV show is on every night. Who knows what other people you may be able to help as well. There are a multitude of survival sites on the internet and even people who run camps to train you to survive in the wild. Urban survival is another thing entirely, and there are sites that teach that as well. There are books and videos, checklists, supplies, etc. to help you make it without the modern conveniences to which we are so accustomed. Be sure to compare the different information and not just take one person’s blog as gospel on the subject. Learn about the world God created in the process instead of just being focused on the world mankind has adapted.