After a nasty rainstorm that brought widespread flooding in the community, one of the parishioners at my church said she had a lot of water in her house. So, I offered to take a look. When I arrived, she talked about how the water line to the washing machine had broken, causing the kitchen to flood.
I imagined the rainstorm had damaged the wallboard—at least a few feet high—but the water only covered the floor and a few inches up the wall. Fortunately, the lady had returned in time to turn off the water. She also had insurance.
I thought of all the people who had lost so much during floods. One house I worked on in Baton Rouge had seen water up to the ceiling. The owners lost everything and had no flood insurance.
Insurance can be a lifesaver but can also drain our bank accounts. We hope we never need it, but we’d like a rebate for not using it. The whole idea is that insurance can give us peace of mind when a major catastrophe strikes, like a flood, a hurricane, or a terrible car accident.
We see many similarities between the lives of people from history and our own in the Bible. No insurance was available for volcanoes, floods, and famines. Even in Old Testament times, people just like us tried to survive daily. And their struggle was more difficult than ours today.
So, where does our comfort come from? Perfect weather, good neighbors to watch out for us, a healthy insurance policy, or government subsidies? All these things can help in times of need, but we can’t rely on human endeavors to see us through this life to the afterlife.
Don’t kid yourself by believing you can make it without God. Find your security in Him.
Carl Schleede is a writer.